Uttar Pradesh's Siddharth Vishwakarma and Telangana's Rashmikaa S Bhamidipaty extended their startling form to clinch the titles in the men's and women's categories respectively in the 28th Fenesta Open National Tennis Championship 2023 at the DLTA Complex in New Delhi on Saturday.Siddharth pulled off a stunning come-from-behind 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 victory against Haryana's Karan Singh, while Rashmikaa registered a thrilling 6-4, 4-6, 7-6 win over defending champion Vaidhee Chaudhari of Gujarat, as per a press release from Fenesta Open National Tennis Championship.The third seed Siddharth took his time to settle in the men's singles final before unleashing his powerful shots and precise backhands that saw him securing the title for the second time in his career. Siddharth's first Fenesta National title came in 2018 and now he looks forward to an exciting run on the circuit."It is a great feeling to become the Fenesta Open champion again after five years. I worked hard for this and want to thank Ratan Sharma sir my coach who has been a great support to me in my career. I am now ready for the upcoming tournaments on the circuit," commented Siddharth.
The winners received glittering trophies along with exciting cash rewards at the prize ceremony. With a total prize pool of over INR 21.5 lakh up for grabs along with kit allowance in the junior categories, the champions of men's and women's singles categories took home the trophy and Rs 3 lakh each while the runners-up were awarded trophy and Rs 2 lakh.The women's singles title match also went down to the third set where Rashmikaa held her nerves before winning the title for the first time.Over the years, the tournament has witnessed the participation of renowned Indian tennis players such as Rohan Bopanna, Somdev Devvarman, Yuki Bhambri, Sania Mirza and Rutuja Bhosale in the past editions. It is India's biggest domestic tennis tournament.Rashmikaa stated, "Playing in this tournament this year has been an amazing experience. I played a close friend in the final and think we had a tough fight on the court, the competition between us was great. The last game could have been anyone's but I held my nerves better and it's great to be the champion."Meanwhile, Uttar Pradesh's Rushil Khosla shone on the court as he defeated Samarth Sahita of Maharashtra 6-3, 6-3 in straight sets to clinch the boys' U-18 singles title.Aishwarya Jadhav of Maharashtra won the girls' U-18 singles trophy after beating Suhitha Maruri (Karnataka) 6-3, 1-6, 6-3 in a thrilling three-set final. (ANI)
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