In a repeat of the last year’s final matchup, Goa’s numero uno Tejas Shevde will cross swords with Karnataka’s Praneeth Venugopal for the men’s singles title at the Gadre Gaspar Dias Open 2022 tennis championships being played at the Clube Tennis de Gaspar Dias courts-Miramar and at Panjim Gymkhana.
The annual tennis tournament by Clube Tennis de Gaspar Dias, Goa’s first tennis club, is being organized under the aegis of the Goa State Tennis Association (GSTA), with support from Gadre Group.
Four-time champion Tejas, who had retired midway into the last year’s final with an injury, will be keen to set the record straight this time out. While for the 21-year-old Praneeth, the sole aim will be to defend his crown.
In the semi-finals, Tejas just didn’t allow Suraj Bikkannavar any breathing space as the Margao-based multi-talented athlete was relentless on the way to scoring a 6-0, 6-0 victory. Praneeth was also dominant in his semis encounter where the Bangalorean got the better of Andrew 6-1, 6-3.
Over in the men’s doubles, Kafil Kadvekar/Ashwin Narsinghani beat Andrew/Raju M (2)6-7; 6-3; 10-7 to enter the Men’s doubles Finals; while in the mixed doubles event, Santosh/Melanie Chowgule overcame the challenge from Adarsh M/Babita Anthony (7-6,(4), 6-2) to move into the finals.
Meanwhile, Akhilesh Chavan beat Aditya Jadhav 4-1,4-3(4) in the final of boys U-12 event. Akhilesh defeated Arhan Inamdar 4-3, 3-4, 10-8 in the semi-final. Aditya beat Kyan 4-0, 4-0 at the last-four stage.