Hyderabad Strikers rally to down Bengaluru Spartans; Pune Jaguars march on in Tennis Premier League

The overall team strength of the Hyderabad Strikers held them in good stead as they overturned an early deficit to put them across the Bengaluru Spartans 42-38. The four-point win was their second on the league stage of the Tennis Premier League at the Celebration Club in Mumbai on Wednesday.

Earlier on Tuesday, the Hyderabad outfit had outplayed the Rajasthan Panthers 49-31. It was also Bengaluru’s second loss, having lost to the Mumbai Leon Army 39-41 on Tuesday.

The Pune Jaguars also continued their winning form with a 46-34 victory over the Rajasthan Panthers, for whom it was their second league stage loss.

Karman Kaur gives Hyderabad Strikers winning start in TPL

Karman Kaur gave the Hyderabad Strikers a winning start, scoring over the higher-ranked Uzbek Sabina Sharipova 11-9.

However, Bengaluru came roaring back through N Sriram Balaji, who served big and volleyed well against Arjun Kadhe, jumping to a 7-0 lead before winning 14-6, to give them a sizeable lead.

It was here that Hyderabad’s team strength came into play, with Vishnu Vardhan joining Karman for a 11-9 win over Jeevan N and Sharipova.

With the advantage still with Bengaluru, Hyderabad needed a big win in the deciding men’s doubles and Vishnu and Kadhe did exactly that. Both used their big serves and sharp net coverage to their advantage, winning 14-6 over Bala and Jeevan to seal the tie.

Rutuja was once again in good form for the Pune Jaguars, winning the opening singles 11-9 over Rajasthan’s Latvian player Diana Marcinkevica. Saketh Myneni continued the momentum with a 12-8 victory over Aryan Goveas. Then they won the mixed doubles and men’s doubles 12-8 and 11-9 respectively for a comfortable victory.

RESULTS

(Wednesday)

Hyderabad Strikers bt Bengaluru Spartan 42-38 (Karman Kaur bt Sabina Sharipova 11-9; Arjun Kadhe lost to N Sriram Balaji 61; Vishnu Vasdhan/Karman bt Jeevan N/Sharipova 11-9; Vishnu/Kadhe bt Jeevan/Bala 1-6

Pune Jaguars bt Rajasthan Tigers 46-34 (Rutuja Bhosle bt Diana Marcinkevica 11-9; Saketh Myneni bt Aryan Goveas 12-8; Ishaque Iqbal/Rutuja bt Prajnesh Gunneswaran/Diana 12-8; Saketh/Ishaque bt Prajnesh/Aryan 11-9)

(Tuesday)

Hyderabad Strikers bt Rajasthan Tigers 49-31 (Karman lost to Diana 9-11; Kadhe bt Prajnesh 1-6; Vishnu/Karman bt Aryan/Diana 15-5; Kadhe/Vishnu bt Aryan Prajnesh 11-9)

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Mumbai Leon Army bt Bengaluru Spartans 41-39 (Sowjanya Bavisetti bt Sabina 12-8; Ramanathan Ramkumar bt Balaji 11-9; Sowjanya/Niki Poonacha lost to Jeevan/Sabina 8-12; Ramkumar/Poonacha tied with Jeevan/Balaji 10-10.