Pratik Siddharth | The Times Of India | Monday, Feb 26, 2018

On birthday, Aarav takes top seed in stride to claim state U-10 crown

NAGPUR: Aarav Mehta would not get a better reason than a title victory to celebrate his birthday. The way Aarav held his nerves and proved his might over the top seed Vivaan Karande, earned him applause from around 50 tennis lovers present at the MSLTA Tennis Academy courts in Ram Nagarhere on Sunday.

After scoring easy victories in all the matches before booking a final date with Vivaan, Aarav came up with yet another clinical performance in the all-Mumbai final. He beat the top seed 4-2, 4-2 in straight sets to win Dinshaw's MSLTA State Ranking Tennis meet for U-10 Boys and Girls.

Both players won the hearts of the tennis enthusiasts. The duo returned some excellent volleys and showcased brilliant baseline skills as the spectators cheered them after every point scored in the summit clash.

Earlier in semifinals, Vivaan cruised past Shivtej Shirfule 6-3, while Aarav saw off the challenge of Avaneesh Chafle 6-5 (5).

n the girls final, top seed Nainika Reddy from Solapur played well to beat local favourite Sejal Bhutada and clinch the trophy. Nainika's used her powerful returns to hit several winners. Riding on such a show, Nainika won 4-0, 4-0 with ease.

Chief guest Aspi Bapuna distributed the prizes. Shiraz Gimi, Sudhir Bhiwapurkar, Ramarao, coach, Practennis, Mumbai, tournament supervisor Supriya Chatterjee, Vijay Naidu, and other dignitaries were prominently present.

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