Prithvi Sekhar got past defending champion and second seed Niki Poonacha in the men’s quarterfinals of the National hard court championship at the Tennis Project, Baliawas, on Friday.
Prithvi led 6-4, 3-0 when Niki retired. The latter recovered in time to make the doubles final with Anirudh Chandrasekar.
Prithvi will face former Asian junior champion Nitin Kumar Sinha, who beat fourth seed Paras Dahiya in straight sets. The other semifinal will be between top seed Arjun Kadhe and third seed Ishaque Eqbal.
In the women’s section, Sai Samhitha beat four-time National champion Prerna Bhambri 7-5, 7-5. She will face second seed Shrivalli Bhamidipaty in the semifinals, and the other match will feature top seed Vaidehi Chaudhari against seventh seed Arthi Muniyan.
Sai also made the doubles final in partnership with Rishika Sunkara, and will play top seeds Soha Sadiq and Saumya Vig.
The results: Men (quarterfinals): Arjun Kadhe bt Digvijay Pratap Singh 6-3, 6-1; Ishaque Eqbal bt Kaza Vinayak Sharma 6-2, 6-3; Nitin Kumar Sinha bt Paras Dahiya 6-4, 6-3; Prithvi Sekhar bt Niki Poonacha 6-4, 3-0 (retired).
Doubles (semifinals): Niki Poonacha & Anirudh Chandrasekar bt Suraj Prabodh & Anurag Nenwani 4-6, 6-2, [10-7]; Ishaque Eqbal & Nitin Kumar Sinha bt Lohith Bathrinath & Abhinav Sanjeev Shanmugam 6-3, 6-4.
Women (quarterfinals): Vaidehi Chaudhari bt Akanksha Nitture 7-5, 6-1; Arthi Muniyan bt Yubarani Banerjee 6-2, 6-1; Sai Samhitha bt Prerna Bhambri 7-5, 7-5; Shrivalli Bhamidipaty bt Soha Sadiq 6-3, 6-1.
Doubles (semifinals): Soha Sadiq & Saumya Vig bt Ayushi Singh & Medhavi Singh 6-0, 6-1; Sai Samhitha & Rishika Sunkara bt Reshma Maruri & Akanksha Nitture 6-2, 5-7, [10-5].