Young Siddhant Banthia was able to establish his strong game against some of the best players in the country as he guided DMG Delhi Crusaders to a 29-25 victory over Haryana Sapphires in the Pro Tennis League here on Saturday.
The 19-year-old Banthia, who has played the junior Grand Slams, impressed with his keen anticipation, quick movement and dynamic volleying as he stood out in two doubles matches that tilted the balance in favour of the Delhi team.
Banthia combined remarkably well with the gutsy Mahak Jain to win the mixed doubles match 6-4 against Jeevan Nedunchezhiyan and Sowjanya Bavisetti.
A thriller
Later, he combined with Dalwinder Singh to survive a couple of match points against Jeevan and Vijay Sundar Prashanth to clinch a thriller in the tie-break.
Thereafter, Tushar Jagota and Ajay Malik outplayed Arjun Uppal and Garvit Gupta 6-1 to put Delhi in a strong position.
Ramkumar in good form
In the other match of the day, Ramkumar Ramanathan was in robust form as he blanked Sidharth Rawat in singles and won the doubles 6-3 with Arjun Kadhe, against Niki Poonacha and Sidharth Rawat. Earlier, Daria Mishina of Russia had won her singles in the tie-break against Riya Bhatia, after Ashish Sinha had lost the opening match to Nishant Dabas.
Mishina also won her mixed doubles 6-1 with Arjun, against Riya and Niki, which paved the way for a comprehensive 29-21 victory for Proveri Supersmashers against ARA Avengers.
Banthia and Ramkumar were adjudged the ‘best players’ of the two ties.
The results (league): DMG Delhi Crusaders bt Haryana Sapphires 29-25 (Kabir Hans bt Uddayvir Singh 6-3; Mahak Jain lost to Sowjanya Bavisetti 3-6; Mahak & Siddhant Banthia bt Sowjanya & Jeevan Nedunchezhiyan 6-4; Dalwinder Singh lost to Vijay Sundar Prashanth 2-6; Dalwinder & Banthia bt Vijay Sundar & Jeevan 6-5(4); Tushar Jagota & Ajay Malik bt Arjun Uppal & Garvit Gupta 6-1).
Proveri Supersmashers bt ARA Avengers 29-21 (Ashish Sinha lost to Nishant Dabas 2-6; Daria Mishina bt Riya Bhatia 6-5(5); Mishina & Arjun Kadhe bt Riya Bhatia & Niki Poonacha 6-1; Ramkumar Ramanathan bt Sidharth Rawat 6-0; Ramkumar & Arjun bt Niki & Sidharth 6-3; Ashish Khanna & Karan Srivastav lost to Saurabh Singh & Suvrat Mall 3-6).
