Paris, May 26: Abhimanyu Vannemreddy remained on course for a wildcard entry into the junior French Open with two contrasting wins but Malikaa Marathe was knocked out of the Rendez-Vous event here today.
The 17-year-old Abhimanyu subdued China’s Sheng Tang 6-2 6-2 and later battled past Korea’s Minjong Park 3-6 6-3 6-3 in a gruelling match to top Group I and qualify for tomorrow’s final.
Abhimanyu, who was a last-minute replacement of injured Siddanth Banthia, will now fight it out with Group II winner.
Banthia, winner of the Indian leg of Rendez-Vous, had pulled out of the event due to an injury. Since Abhimanyu had ended a runner-up to Banthia, he made the cut for the event.
Malikaa, who turned only 14 last month, competed against much older and experienced campaigners but gave a good account of herself.
Playing her first ever tournament outside India, Malikaa took some time to settle and gradually gained confidence. She was routed 1-6 0-6 in the first match by Japan’s Anri Nagata and went down fighting 6-7(5) 5-7 against Brazil’s Nathalia Wolf Gasparin.
Bengaluru’s Abhimanyu, who till recently trained with former Davis Cupper Vishal Uppal in Delhi, had landed in Paris only yesterday morning but got himself attuned to the conditions quickly.
After having just one practice session with coach Vivek Satyajit, sent by AITA to help the Indian players, Abhimanyu came out firing against the Chinese, who looked bothered by the heat but Park proved to be a tough nut to crack.
Park was troubled by a right leg issue which helped Abhimanyu’s cause. While against the Chinese, Abhimanyu was getting into position very quickly for his counter strokes, the Korean dictated the terms of the play with his superior game. He packed a lot of power in his shots, despite being short, and used drop shots with accuracy.
Abhimanyu though was rewarded for his tenacity and retrieving ability. His never-say-die-spirit kept him in the hunt and eventually he crossed the line.
Abhimanyu is first Indian to qualify for the Rendez-Vous final as in the 2015 and 2016 editions none of the four Indians – Basil Khama, Sathwika Sama, Adil Kalyanpur, and Mahak Jain – could make the cut.
Park took two medical timeouts and towards the end of the match his movement was crippled due to pain. It prevented an exciting finish to the match. The Indian broke him in the seventh game to take a 4-3 lead, which proved decisive. (PTI)
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