Rushmi Chakravarthi of Tamil Nadu reached the women's singles final and then won the doubles title alongside Ankita Raina in the Indian Jute National grass-court tennis here at the South Club on Friday.
With a 6-0, 6-4 win over Amrita Mukherjee, Rushmi — a five-time National champion — made the final for the ninth time signalling the re-emergence of the old guard in the fight for supremacy in women's tennis.
Challenging the enviable record of the 34-year-old Rushmi will be someone less than half her age — Sri Vaishnavi Peddi Reddy, 16, of Andhra Pradesh. The fourth seed made the final after beating 2009 champion and second seed Ankita Raina of Gujarat.
After outclassing her unseeded 17-year-old challenger from Bengal, Rushmi and Ankita Raina, the top seeded pair, beat the unseeded Saadgi Rajani and Eetee Mehta of Gujarat 6-1, 6-2 to win the doubles crown.
The men's final will be an all-Andhra Pradesh affair, with top-seeded Saketh Myneni taking on defending champion and second seed A.S. Suresh Krishna.
Justifying his top seeding in the tournament, Myneni, who is playing his first senior tournament on grass, dominated the 37-year-old fourth seed Nitten Kirrtane of Maharashtra, 6-2, 6-4 in just 79 minutes.
Myneni, currently ranked No. 11 nationally, will have his task cut out when he meets Suresh Krishna, who has put up improved performances with every round.
Having weathered some anxious moments in the quarterfinal and pre-quarters — where he played gruelling three-setters against unseeded opponents — Suresh Krishna was a lot more consistent against State-mate and third seed P.C. Vignesh.
The defending champion played with authority and won the first set 6-2 before Vignesh retired with a back problem, after Suresh Krishna broke him in the first game of the second set.
The results: Men: Semifinals: Saketh Myneni (AP) bt Nitten Kirrtane (Mah) 6-2, 6-4; A.S. Suresh Krishna (AP) bt P.C. Vignesh (AP) 6-2, 1-0 (retd.).
Women:Semifinals: Rushmi Chakravarthi (TN) bt Amrita Mukherjee (Ben) 6-0, 6-4; Sri Vaishnavi Peddi Reddy (AP) bt Ankita Raina (Guj) 6-3, 6-1.
Doubles: Final: Rushmi Chakravarthi (TN) & Ankita Raina (Guj) bt Saadgi Rajni & Eetee Mehta (Guj) 6-1, 6-2.
