Jeni Patel sneaks into main draw

Mumbai, May 6 (UNI) Jeni Patel of Gujarat clinched victory via a thrilling tie-breaker to storm into the girls under-14 main draw in the Bombay Gymkhana-TCS All India National Super Series Junior Tennis Tournament 2007 at the Bombay Gymkhana here today.

In the closest and most exciting match of the day, Patel overcame a strong and unexpected challenge from Smitha Sai of Tamil Nadu before pulling off a tight 9-8 (8-6) win in the final qualifying round.

Sai refused to give up as she kept pace with Patel right through.

She forced the match into extra points but crucial winners saw Patel through.

In another close final qualifying matches, Saumya Phoolmati of Andhra Pradesh prevailed over compatriot Saranya Varma 9-7, while Sanjana Shree of Tamil Nadu beat Mandavi Mullick of West Bengal 9-6 to join Patel in the main draw that kicks off tomorrow.

Riddhi Hegde and Sayali Patil of Maharashtra were the other significant winners.

Results (Final Qualifying Round): Girls U-14: Riddhi Hegde (Mah) bt Bharti Bailapudi (Mah) 9-1; A Sharmila (TN) bt M Spurthi (AP) 9-4; Sayali Patil (Mah) bt Vijayanti Reddy (AP) 9-3; Sanjana Shree (TN) bt Mandavi Mullick (WB) 9-6; Aaroli Chavan (Mah) bt Amreen Shaikh (AP) 9-0; Gauri Bindoor (Mah) bt Bhargavi Thakkar (Mah) 9-4; Saumya Phoolmati (AP) bt Saranya Varma (AP) 9-7; Jeni Patel (Guj) bt Smitha Sai (TN) 9-8 (8-6).

UNI