Giant-killer Waghmare shocks boys U-12 top seed Aditya

Mumbai, Nov 22 (UNI) Vivek Waghmare of Nanded continued his giant-killing streak when he shocked boys' under-12 top seed Aditya Vyas of Nashik to storm into the final of the Vazirani Maharashtra State Ranking Junior Tennis Tournament at the Vazirani National Sports Academy at Nerul in Navi Mumbai today.

On another dramatic day of upsets, Waghmare, who shunted out third seed Nikhil Passi in the quarter-finals, overcame Vyas 9-5 in an exciting semi-final.

Enjoying brilliant form in the competition, Waghmare raced to a 6-0 lead and enhanced it to 7-2 before Vyas initiated a late challenge.

''I played an aggressive game and took control early in the match. I pushed the ball on his backhand and he made all the mistakes, hitting wide or long down the line or into the net. I have beaten Aditya in a state-level competition in Nanded earlier and I knew his game,'' explained a delighted Waghmare.

Unseeded Karan Mehta caused the other big upset of the day when he stunned boys' under-10 top seed and winner of seven titles this season Nikhil Passi 9-6, in the best-of-17 games semi-finals.

In the title clash, Mehta will take on No 3 Sahil Deshmukh who upset second seed Nikhil Kannan 9-3 in the other semi-final.

Girls' under-12 top seed and Vazirani Academy lass Bharathi Bylapudi set up a mouth-watering final against second seed Snehadevi Reddy after the state's top two juniors fashioned easy semi-final wins.

Girls' under-10 top seed Nandini Das will take on third seed Prabhuti Singhania in the championship round.

Results (All Semi-Finals): Boys U-12: Vivek Waghmare (Nanded) bt Aditya Vyas (Nashik) 9-5; Ryan Serrao bt Ajinkya Bachhav 9-5.

Doubles: Aditya Vyas/Ryan Serrao bt Nikhil Passi/Pranav Pathole 9-5; Vivek Waghmare/Nikhil Kannan bt Uddhav Shisodia/Adiya Naik 10-8.

Boys U-10: Karan Mehta bt Nikhil Passi 9-6; Sahil Deshmukh bt Nikhil Kannan 9-3.

Boys U-8: Vatsin Thakkar bt Urit Gupta 7-0; Dhruv Sunish bt Rahul Kolge 7-0.

Girls U-12: Bharathi Bylapudi bt Asmita Garodia 9-6; Snehadevi Reddy bt Nandini Das 9-3.

Doubles: Bharathi Bylapudi/Nandini Das bt Apurva Patil/Asmita Garodia 9-3; Sanyukta Baluni/Kavita Mishra bt Jinisha Patel/K.P.

Bhagyashreerao 9-2.

Girls U-10: Nandini Das bt Sharlee Deshmukh 9-2; Prabhuti Singhania bt Devanshi Bhimjiyani 9-6.

Girls U-8: Jagriti Sachan bt Bhavi Shah 7-0; Mihika Yadav bt Dakshita Patel 7-1.

UNI