DEFENDING CHAMPION Vishnu Vardhan used his potent ground strokes to whip Manish Suresh Kumar 6-3, 6-4 in the first round of men's singles at the Fenesta Open National Tennis Championships being played at the Delhi Lawn Tennis Association (DLTA) complex in New Delhi on Tuesday.
Initially seeded one before Sriram Balaji stormed into the main draw as a qualifier, Vishnu played consistently and got into rhythm against Manish, beating him in straight sets.
Part-time professionals were involved in a long contest as Lakshit Sood outplayed seasoned pro Nitten Kirrtane 5-7, 7-6 (5), 6-2. On another hot day when the maximum temperature hovered around 36 degrees Celsius, Lakshit needed to use all his energy to get past Nitten.
Former champion Kirrtane's patient game from the baseline, with sharp angles -- typical of a left-hander -- ensured Lakshit had to fight for points. Finally, in the decider, Lakshit wrapped it up for a well deserved win.
Experienced fourth seed V.M. Ranjeet took time to settle down before downing Prajwal Dev 4-6, 6-3, 6-1.
In women's singles, 16-year-old Mihika Yadav offered some resistance against defending champion Prerna Bhambri before losing 4-6, 1-6.
It was an easy outing for Snehadevi S. Reddy, title favourite and top seed, as she did the demolition job against Sneha Padamata with a clinical 6-0, 6-0 win.