National champion and second seed Dalwinder Singh of Punjab warmed up perfectly for the stronger challenges ahead as he eased past unseeded Jatin Dahiya in two sets in a men’s singles first round match of the AITA Ranking ₹22 lakh prize-money JVPG Anirudh Desai All-India Open Tennis Tournament 2018, at the Juhu Vile Parle Gymkhana’s floodlit tennis courts on Tuesday.
21-year-old Dalwinder was in complete control and hit some fine winners to cruise past Dahiya, winning at 6-3, 6-2 and move into the second round.
In other men’s singles matches, Kunal Anand, seeded fourth brushed aside the challenge from Shahbaaz Khan scripting a 6-4, 6-3 win, while qualifier Dhruv Sunish produced a creditable performance to tame a higher ranked opponent Nitin Kumar Sinha in two sets at 6-2, 6-4.
In women’s action, second seed Sai Samitha also enjoyed an easier opening round as she breezed past unseeded Shruti Gupta posting a fluent 6-0, 6-2 victory. Third seed Rishika Sunkara was also in great form dropping just one game as she packed off unseeded Mihika Yadav 6-1, 6-0 in quick time to also progress to the second round.
Meanwhile, unseeded Dakshata Patel scored a shock win against seventh seed Shweta C. Rana romping to a comfortable 6-1, 6-2 win and fourth seed Nithyaraj Baburaj proved too good for Avika Sagwal and charged to a 6-1, 6-0.
Results - Women’s singles (1st round): Bhuvana Kalva bt Nikita Bishnoi 6-1, 6-2; 3-Rishika Sunkara bt Mihika Yadav 6-1, 6-0; Arushi Vikram Bhasin bt Shrishti Daas 6-1, 7-5; Shreya Tatavarthy bt Moulika Ram 6-1, 6-0; 2-Sai Samitha bt Shruti Gupta 6-0, 6-2; Dakshata Patel bt 7-Shweta C. Rana 6-1, 6-2; 4-Nithyaraj Baburaj bt Avika Sagwal 6-1, 6-0; 8-Nidhi Chilumula bt Kaaviya Balasubramaniam 6-1, 6-1; Sara Yadav bt Nidhitra Rajmohan 6-2, 7-6; Bhuvana Kalva bt Nikita Bishnoi 6-1, 6-2; 3-Rishika Sunkara bt Mihika Yadav 6-1, 6-0.
Men’s singles (1st round): Dhruv Sunish bt Nitin Kumar Sinha 6-2, 6-4; 4-Kunal Anand (Dli) bt Shahbaaz Khan (Mum) 6-4, 6-3; Dakshineswar Suresh (TN) bt Anurag Nenwani (Del) 6-2, 2-6, 7-6(5); Shubham Malhotra bt Kunal R. Vazirani 3-6, 6-3, 6-4; Paramveer Singh Bajwa bt Karan Srivastav 6-7(6), 6-3, 6-1; Madhwin Kamath bt Amarnath Arora 6-2, 6-0; 7-Siddharth Vishwakarma bt Mohammed Fahad 6-1, 6-2; 2-Dalwinder Singh bt Jatin Dahiya 6-3, 6-2.