Pro Tennis League 2023: Reigning champions Gurgaon Sapphires reach final 4

Published at :December 10, 2023 at 3:18 PM

Modified at :January 14, 2024 at 12:17 AM

Ichiban Samurai remain unbeaten in the group stages.

The beauty of Harven Pro Tennis League 2023 tiebreak format was brought to the fore once again on Saturday. With teams progressing based on the points won, it was always going to be tough when results from three days of enthralling tennis were going to be tallied. With place in the semi-finals on the line, the fifth season of the tennis league didn’t disappoint. In Group A, Ichiban Samurai lapped up their third consecutive victory to take top spot.

But it was the second place that was going to be decisive with just five points separating three teams coming into the day’s tennis at the DLTA Complex in New Delhi. At the end of Friday, Indraprastha Warriors led Gurgaon Sapphires and Mumbai Acers by four and five points respectively. It was almost fitting that Indraprastha Warriors met Gurgaon Sapphires with place in the semi-finals at stake.

Maan Keshwarwani gave Gurgaon Sapphires a massive 12-point advantage when he swept Suvrat Mall aside with a 17-3 margin in the clash between Next Gen men’s singles players. This came right after former National champion Sharmada Balu conceded a singles match for third day in a row. Even though Balu has looked out of colour in singles department, she has been impeccable in doubles. She partnered with Saurabh Singh and Ruma Gaikaiwari for 11-9 wins and helped her doubles record tis season to four wins in six.

Squeezed between these wins, Rithvik Choudhary recorded a morale boosting 17-13 win over India Davis Cup player Mukund Sasikumar by 17-13. However, that would have been shot somewhat when he teamed up Kesharwani and were thumped 7-23 by Mukund Sasikumar & Suvrat Mall. It brought the 24-point lead (77-53) down to just eight points (84-76) but was enough to see them through.

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In the other Group A clash played in the day, Ichiban Samurai picked up their third straight win of the season while Mumbai Acers didn’t help their cause of making the next stage. Next Gen players Rushil Khosla and Gauri Mangaonkar collected convincing 17-3 and 14-6 wins respectively to boost their lead to 41-9. It was maintained by the end of the tie with Nitin Kumar Sinha and Rushil Khosla defeating Siddhant Banthia and Aarush Nitture by 20-10 for an overall 96-64 scoreline.

Group B didn’t pose much drama with Sankara Stag Babolat Yoddhas and Paramount Proec Tigers qualifying for the semi-finals. They had a sizeable lead going into the final day of first leg with Lucknow Aviators and DMG Delhi Crusaders on their trail. By the end of the evening, Paramount Proec Tigers and Sankara Stag Babolat Yoddhas swapped places in the standings from a day before.

It would decide the semi-final lineup with Ichiban Samurai taking on Paramount Proec Tigers and Gurgaon Sapphires to contest against Sankara Stag Babolat Yoddhas.

Paramount Proec Tigers suffered their first defeat of the season when they lost 74-86 to Lucknow Aviators. Kashish Bhatia, Shivank Bhatnagar and Anirudh Chandrasekar all won their matches (12-8, 12-8, 19-11) to take a sizeable lead and go home with a win.

Sankara Stag Babolat Yoddhas won for a second day running and did so in commanding fashion with a win over DMG Delhi Crusaders. The tie had remained neck-and-neck throughout. Next Gen women’s players Sahira Singh beat Somya Arya 13-7 to give the team a slender four-point lead. Then former National champion Sowjanya Bavisetti teamed up with Sahira to extend the gap to 10 points. In the final match of the contest, Arjun Kadhe and Vansh Bisht extended the lead and ensured no drama persisted in the group.

Harven Pro Tennis League Semi-Final and Final schedule:

Sunday 10 December 2023

12:00 PM – Centre Court – Semi-final 1

03:00 PM – Centre Court – Semi-final

06:00 PM – Centre Court – Final

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