Friday, Apr 19, 2024 | Last Update : 06:22 AM IST
Siddhant, Rashmikaa win their ticket to paris
Siddhant had won the competition last year as well but failed to make an appearance in Paris, France due to an injury.
No. 1 seed Siddhant J Banthia and unseeded Rashmikaa S Bhamidipaty booked their tickets for the ‘Roland-Garros Junior Wild-Card Competition by Longines’ play-off to be held in Paris on May 26, 2018 as the two players won their respective final matches here on Sunday at the clay courts of the Delhi Lawn Tennis Association (DLTA).
Pune’s Siddhant won the final match in the boys’ category while Rashmikaa S Bhamidipaty came out on top in the girls’ category of the competition. The 'Roland-Garros Junior Wild-Card Competition by Longines' is part of the fourth edition of the ‘Rendez-vous a Roland-Garros.’
Siddhant had won the competition last year as well but failed to make an appearance in Paris, France due to an injury. However, the youngster from Maharashtra made up for it by securing a trip to the land of Roland-Garros by winning the final match against Mann Maulik Shah 6-2, 2-6, 7-6(3), in what turned out to be a very competitive encounter between the two.
Siddhant won the first set comfortably but Mann showed determination to win the second set. The final deciding set was a well-matched one and it saw Siddhant snatch victory from the jaws of defeat as he saved a match-point when he was trailing 4-5. The youngster showed why he was the No. 1 seed as he kept his calm and won the match in the tie-breaker.
In the girls' final, Rashmikaa carried her fine form in the competition as she defeated Tanisha Kashyap in straight sets 6-4, 6-4. Rashmikaa had earlier defeated two seeded players in the competition leading up to the final. Her performance in the final match was proof as to why the talented youngster from Telangana secured a trip to Paris.
The first set saw Rashmikaa dominate from the start as she found her rhythm quickly, hitting aces at will as Tanisha struggled to keep pace. The second set, however, was a bit difficult for Rashmikaa as Tanisha tried to look for an opening to make a comeback into the match. But Rashmikaa's performance towards the end of the match ensured that she secured the victory in straight sets.
The fourth edition of ‘Rendez-vous a Roland-Garros’ will now move to Bangalore, India for the ‘Roland-Garros Amateur Series by Longines’, which will feature an open-for-all exhibition series taking place at the Bowring Institute from April 30th to May 6th.
