Unseeded Chandrika Joshi of Karnataka celebrated her 13th birthday here on Friday with a maiden title triumph in the Under-14 Championship Series junior tennis tournament beating third seed P. Shruthi of Tamil Nadu 7-6 (2), 6-2, in the girls singles final.
In an all-Tamil Nadu boys singles final, qualifier Subash Paramasivam came from behind to topple top seed Rajesh Kannan, who is ranked 32 on the All India Tennis Association (AITA) Under-14 list, 2-6, 6-4, 6-4.
Chandrika played a positive game after a slow start. In the first set, Shruthi gained the upper hand, taking a 5-3 lead. Chandrika rallied to make it 5-all and went on take the set on the tie-break.
Chandrika came out of her defensive shell in the second set and went for her shots. Attacking strongly with her forehand, she raced to a 4-0 lead and closed the set and match on a high note at 6-2.
In the keenly fought final, Rajesh who hails from Tiruchi, outhit Chennai's Subash in the first set. Rajesh was very much in control in the second also before he squandered two game points in the eighth to drop serve (4-4).
Seizing the chance, Subash made it 5-4 on his serve and notched up another break to take the set at 6-4. In the decider, Subash led 2-0 with a break in the second game before Rajesh struck back in the third game.
Playing with lot more confidence and perseverance, Subash held his ground and broke Rajesh again in the 10th game to bag the set and title.
