Kadhe, Bhambri start favourites

New Delhi: Davis Cupper Arjun Kadhe and multiple champion Prerna Bhambri will start as favourites when the Fenesta Open tennis nationals championship gets under way at the R.K. Khanna Stadium here on Monday.  

Top seed Kadhe, who was named in the Indian Davis Cup that went to Serbia recently, is determined to claim the title this time after faltering twice in the final.

“My aim is to win it. Everyone is good here because when they play me they have nothing to lose. I want to win as I have been in the finals twice before here,” Kadhe, who won on the ITF Futures and ended runner up in three others this year, said.

The Pune boy has reached the final in 2012 and 2013 but lost to Jeevan Nedunchezhiyan and Mohit Mayur Prakash, respectively. He lost in the quarter-finals last year.

Kadhe will be up against unseeded Kunal Anand in the opening round on Monday.

Challenging Kadhe would be former champions Mohit Mayur, V.M. Ranjit, 2014 finalist Sidharth Rawat and  left-handed Sidharth Vishwakarma, who ended runner-up in 2016.

Delhi girl Prerna had four national titles in her kitty and with her current form she has the potential and experience to add another crown in her kitty.

The 26-year-old just returned from Thailand after competing in two ITF events, where she reached the semi-finals. “I am looking forward to play tomorrow and I am hopeful that I will win again this time but I am not taking pressure,” Prerna said, who is coached by her brother Prateek Bhambri.

“My brother is my full time coach and he also travels with me. It really help me a lot when someone from the family travels with you,” she added.

Prerna said the field is very open and all the players are talented and giving good results.

“The competition is going to be very tough this time,” she said.

Defending champion Mahak Jain and Zeel Desai are the other players to watch out for in the women’s section along with Mihika Yadav, Natasha Palha, Shweta Rana, Nidhi Chilumula and Sowjanya Bavisetti.

Among juniors, Sidhant Banthia and Abhimanyu Vannem Reddy, who shone during the Road to Wimbledon and the French Open Rendezvous events will fight it out for the title.

Salsa, Aher, Kaavya Sawhney, Prinkle Singh, Bhakti Parwani, Sarah Dev, Prerna Vichare and Sanya Singh will vie for top honours in the girls event.