ITF Asian B1 tennis championships: Local lad Manas Dhamne youngest Indian to elevate title; Shruti Alhawat clinches women’ crown

Local favorite and rising tennis star Manas Dhamne had each motive to rejoice on Saturday as he not solely clinched the ITF Asian B1 Championships title but additionally grew to become the youngest Indian to take action.

In a becoming finale of the week-long event on the Deccan Gymkhana, Dhamne blitzed previous compatriot Aryan Shah to elevate the boys’ trophy whereas Shruti Alhawat triumphed 6-1, 6-4 over Lily Taylor of Australia to clinch the women’ singles title.The opening set of the boys’ singles closing went right down to the wire as each gamers held their serve, thus forcing a tiebreak.

In the tiebreak, Dhamne gained essential factors off Shah’s serve to open up a 5-1 lead and ultimately romping to a 7-4 win to clinch the opening set 7-6.

In the second set, Shah broke Dhamne’s serve within the very first recreation and constructed a wholesome lead.

Dhamne, nonetheless, broke again within the fourth and tenth video games, inching nearer to the title. He ultimately claimed the second set 6-4, clinching the title.

“I am very happy to win in my own city. What makes it more special is that I would be able to play the Australian Open next year. It was a very good final. I didn’t have any plans going into the final. He was serving very well and coming into the net, playing good volleys. I scored some crucial points in the first set, which helped me win it,” mentioned Dhamne, who at present trains beneath Riccardo Piatti on the Piatti Tennis Centre.

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The women’ closing, which spanned an hour and 12 minutes, turned out to be a lopsided affair. It was Alhawat’s first run-in with Taylor within the ITF circuit, however she didn’t present any nerves going into the title conflict. “I am really happy with the win as I worked really hard. I played solid from the start and I did nothing more than rely on my big serves. I also covered a lot of ground during the match. She was serving really well, too, even in the second set. So, I had to make sure that there wasn’t a drop in my intensity. I played my best,” mentioned 16-year-old Alhawat, who’s at present India’s number one on the U-18 stage.