Dev Javia and Rashmikaa crowned national champions

CHENNAI: Due to overnight rain the finals of the 27th MCC National Junior U-18 Clay Court Championship had to be shifted to the SDAT Tennis Stadium in Chennai. Two former Davis cup stars Ramesh Krishnan and Zeeshan Ali were amongst a significant number of spectators who turned up to watch the proceedings at changed venue done only a few hours earlier.
In a final of two left-handers in the Boys category seventeen year old Dev Javia the top seed from Gujarat proved to be too good for the unseeded sixteen year old Arjun Sriram who had won three rounds in the qualifying and five round sin the main draw to reach this stage.Dev played with served and stroked on both flanks with great fluency to break Arjun in the second game and took 3-1 then a 5-3 lead. Dev while serving for the set in the ninth game hit good serve or a firm winner which was countered by Arjun's gritty returns and in the end Dev needed the fifth set point to close out the set 6-3. In the second set Dev was in full flow. A forehand down the line winner, a running forehand cross court passing shot followed by a double hand back hand down the line winner were a treat to watch. He ran up a 5-1 lead before Arjun held again to delay the inevitable outcome by a game. Dev finished the match with an ace which signified his winning dominance throughout the week and become a deserving National Champion.
On the adjacent Court in the Girls finals eighteen year old tall Rashmikka Shrivalli Bhamidipaty of Telengana was simply too powerful for the sixteen year old Reshma Maruri of Karnataka and won in three sets to be crowned the Girls National Clay Court Champion. In the very first game Rashmikka served three aces, two of them consecutively to win the first game of the match. She broke Reshma and led 2-0. Inexplicably, she faltered in the next game conceding two double faults and the game.
Reshma held and made it 2-all. Rashmikka then held and broke serve to lead 4-2.She packed her strong serve with powerful forehands and a backhands. In particular she displayed tremendous balance by bending her knees while unleashing her full force into the ball with her swing on both flanks. In a long seventh game Rashmikka held serve on the fifth deuce to take commanding 5-2 lead. Once again as had happened in her earlier matches Rashmikka lost her intensity, while Reshma kept striving hard and managed to level the set 5-all. Both player held serve to take the set to tiebreak.
Rashmikka looked composed and confident as she went about belting the ball into the corners of court forcing Reshma in to submission and winning the tie break 7-6.
On resumption after the break Rashmikka seemed to have lost her intensity while Reshma came fighting back covering the court and placing the ball deep on both flanks. She also moved in to put a way a firm volley. The result was Reshma held serve throughout the set and broke Rashmikka twice to take the set 6-2. Rashmikka recovered her intensity in the third set. Powerful strokes flowed from her racket and she had Reshma on the run on most of the points of the set. Rashmikka took a 3-0 and then 4-1 led a firm backhand cross winner in that game was a standout shot of the day. Rashmikka kept her composure took her time and closed out the match 6-1 to become the deserving champion.