Eighth seed young Jaitra de Saram created a major upset and clinched the boys’ singles title when he defeated third seed India’s Nikhil Mukherjee by a comfortable straight sets 6/1, 6/3 in the final of the Asian 14 & Under Colombo Week II tennis tournament concluded at the Sri Lanka Tennis Association (SLTA) courts yesterday.
Jaitra maintained a superb record in the tournament and toppled the top seed Wenuka Kithnula 6/3, 3-0ret. in the semis. He had the better of Kazakhstan’s Mohammed Jassim 7/5, 6/2 in the quarterfinals.
Jaitra’s Indian opponent Nikhil beat Singapore’s Ben Rzesacz 7/5, 4/6, 6/4 in the semifinal and defeated Sri Lanka’s Zaidh Zihar 6/2, 6/4 in the quarters.
Meanwhile a Sri Lankan dominated girl’s singles event saw top seed Tania Doloswala beating Saajida Razick in a straight set final 7/5, 6/3.
Tania edged out Ashanthi Senevira 6/1, 6/2 in the semi-final and routed Nelini Jayasuriya 6/0, 6/1 in the quarters.
Saajida on her way to the final beat Ruvi Rajakaruna 6/1, 6/2 in semis and tamed Tharani Alexander 6/3, 6/4 in the quarters.
The Asian Tennis Federation sanctioned back to back two tournaments provided a good platform, especially for Lankan youngsters to gain much needed international level experience and with the advantage of hosting the event, Sri Lanka was able to include maximum number of players in the two tournaments.
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