Rethin, Maaya storm into National tennis finals

Indian tennis juniors Maaya Rajeshwaran and Rethin Pranav shine in Fenesta National championship finals at DLTA Complex.

Two of the brightest juniors in Indian tennis, Maaya Rajeshwaran and Rethin Pranav, showcased their potential yet again, as they made it to the finals of the women’s and men’s events in the Fenesta National championship at the DLTA Complex on Friday.

The 15-year-old Maaya, a precocious talent from Coimbatore, made little fuss in knocking out the second seed and former champion Riya Bhatia 6-3, 6-2.

There was some concern, even in such a strong fare, as Maaya dropped serve four times in the match. The athletic and energetic girl has had a remarkable run, as she has won seven matches so far, including three in the qualifying event, dropping 29 games in all.

She will be up against fluent-stroking Vaidehi Chaudhari who has dropped only 11 games in four matches.

The big-built Rethin, a rare talent from Karur, who was groomed for a few years at the Rohan Bopanna academy in Bengaluru, has capitalised on his lucky-loser spot in the main draw with a remarkably splendid run.

Rethin eased past the experienced Abhinav Sanjeev Shanmugam for the loss of five games, in the semifinals.

After losing to Bhicky Sagolshem in the third and final qualifying round, the 17-year-old Rethin, who was ranked a career-best 88 in the world among juniors, has rarely put a foot wrong.