Vasisht, Zeel triumph

Vasisht Cheruku overcame a bout of fever to beat qualifier Manish Sureshkumar 6-1, 6-3 in the boys’ final of the ITF grade-5 junior tennis tournament here on Saturday.

It was his maiden ITF junior singles title for Cheruku, who had made two other finals earlier. The 15-year-old Cheruku kept Sureshkumar on his toes. The latter played well, but his limitations, both in terms of the game and patience, meant that he could never get a grip over the match.

Cheruku had dominated the whole tournament and had not dropped a set. It was a double crown for Cheruku who had won the doubles title on Friday with Param Pun.

In the girls’ final, the national junior champion Zeel Desai handled the challenge from Lalita Devarakonda in posting a 6-1, 6-2 win. It was her maiden ITF junior singles title for Zeel who had lost three other finals earlier. The 15-year-old Zeel came up with a few fine shots on the run and was quite smart with her retrieves, even as her opponent lost confidence in her ability.

It was the first of two ITF junior tournaments, allotted to Pakistan that was hosted by the All India Tennis Association (AITA).

The results (finals) :

Boys : Vasisht Cheruku bt Manish Sureshkumar 6-1, 6-3;

Girls : Zeel Desai bt Lalita Devarakonda 6-1, 6-2.