Vaishnavi and Vishnu hog limelight at National Tennis Championship

New Delhi, Oct 14 (IANS) Vaishnavi Adkar ousted third seed Yubrani Banerjee 6-4, 6-0 in women's singles in the quarterfinal of the Fenesta Open National Tennis Championship here on Friday.

Riding on her recent form Vaishnavi took time to settle down in the first set, but in the second set she was in sublime form.

In August, Vaishnavi had shown prowess of her abilities when she won the under-18 title on clay at the National under-18 championship in Chennai.

"I am happy to have advanced to the semifinals," said Vashnavi.

The other results in the women's section proceeded on expected lines as the seeds stayed on course. Top seed Vaidehi Chaudhari continued with her impressive form as she outlasted Seed 5 Farhat Aleen Qamar 6-1, 6-2.

"Today's match was really good. I thought it would get close but I played really well. I am in the semi-finals for a third time. I am looking forward to my match on Saturday," said Vaidehi.

Second seed Sai Samhitha got past Sandeepti Singh 6-3, 7-5 in the quarterfinals. "I am feeling great to play the semifinals. Today's match was really good. Sandeepti played really well. I had two match points which I couldn't convert. She gave me a good fight and it feels good to win at the Fenesta Open," said Sai Samhita.

Fourth seed Akanksha Nitture outplayed young Sahira Singh 6-1, 6-3.

In the men's section, veteran of sorts, Vishnu Vardhan turned the heat on Siddharth Vishwakarma. In a match which went down to the wire, 35-year-old Vishnu used a bagful of tricks, sliced and diced his way to the semifinals. The 7-6(7/4), 4-6, 7-6(8/6) effort of labour in over three hours showed Vishnu was ready to spill his guts on the court.

"I am really happy to have made it to the semi-finals at the Fenesta Open this year. I played for three hours and in the end I had to pull out all the tricks. I am now looking forward to the next couple of days at the tournament," said Vishnu.

Chirag Duhan also had to fight hard for his quarter-final win against Nitin Sinha (7-5, 3-6, 6-1).

In the junior section (under-18), Seed 1 player, Suhitha Maruri was in great shape as she beat Hitkamya Narwal 6-1, 6-3. "I just finished my quarterfinals match and am looking forward to the semifinals. It really feels great to come back. I am hoping to put in my best efforts tomorrow," said Suhitha.

In boys' under-18 quarterfinal, Aman Dahiya, Seed 1, rolled over Rethin Pranav 6-4, 6-1. "Today I won my match against Rethin Pranav. I played really well and aggressive. I took my chances. I hope the semifinal will also be good," said Dahiya.