Arjun, Mohit in semis of national tennis

Arjun Kadhe and top seed Mohit Mayur Jayaprakash remained on course for a title clash after convincing wins in their respective men's singles quarterfinal matches at the Fenesta Open National Tennis Championship here Thursday.

Arjun proved too good against second seeded P.C. Vignesh who was knocked out 6-2, 6-1 while Mohit marched into the semifinals at the expense of Mukund Sasikumar, winning 6-3, 7-5 at the Delhi Lawn Tennis Association (DLTA) Complex.

Fourth seed Chandril Sood, who got the better of Delhi's Saurabh Singh 6-2, 7-5, will face Arjun in the semifinals Friday while Mohit will be up against veteran Nitten Kirtane, who dispatched Punjab's Gurinder Singh 6-3, 6-2.

In women's singles, Shweta Rana accounted for Mahitha Reddy but not before the top seed went through some anxious moments in the first set. Eventually, Shweta won the contest 7-6(6), 6-1 while second seed Prerna Bhambri remains the biggest threat for Shweta.

Prerna, the defending champion, made her quarterfinal against veteran Rushmi Chakravorthi a one-sided contest and stormed into the semis with a straight sets victory, outplaying Rushmi 6-3, 6-2, and will play C. Sai Samitha in the last four.

The sixth seed Samitha was down 2-6 against Asian junior champion Snehadevi Reddy, before she came back strongly to win the next two sets 6-3, 6-1.

The day started with a contest between fourth seed Sharmada Balu and third seed Eetee Maheta. The two fought hard but it was Sharmada, who emerged victorious with a 7-6(5), 2-6, 6-2 verdict. Sharmada will be up against top seed Shweta next.

In the boys Under-18 quarterfinals, Udayan Bhakar beat Nikki Poonacha 5-7, 6-4, 6-4, Mukund Sasikumar defeated Shrey Gupta 6-1, 6-0. Hardeep Singh Sandhu edged past Prajwal Dev 4-6, 6-2, 6-3 and Dalwinder Singh thrashed B.R. Nikshep 6-1, 6-0.

In the Under-18 girls quarterfinals, Samitha beat Devanshi Bhimjiyani 6-3, 6-1, Karman K. Thand beat Mihika Yadav 6-4, 4-6, 7-5. Teertha Iska defeated Shristi Slaria 6-7(3), 6-2, 7-6(2) and Simran K. Sethi beat Jennifer Luikhan 6-4, 6-4.