Rifat, Ruchita in main draw

Mumbai, Apr 21 (UNI) Rifat Masjid and Ruchita Ugalmugle fashioned convincing wins to enter the girls' main draw in the Willingdon Sports Club All India Ranking Championship Series tennis tournament at the Willingdon Sports Club here today.

Rifat crushed Roshni Kapoor 4-0, 4-1, while Ruchita routed Nikita Deshmukh 4-1, 4-1 in the second and final qualifying round.

Joining the Mumbai girls was Amarin Shaikh of Andhra Pradesh who overcame a late challenge to beat Nupura Deshpande 4-1, 5-3.

But Nikhil Passi won the match of the day in the second round of the boys qualifiers, when he struggled to a 4-5 (7-2), 5-4 (7-1), 5-4 (7-1) win over a determined Sahil Inamdar in a tie that lasted a marathon two-and-half hours.

The tournament, which is the Willingdon Sports Club's maiden all India tennis competition, includes under-14 singles and doubles, for boys and girls.

The tournament is being held under the auspices of the All India Tennis Association (AITA) and the Maharashtra State Lawn Tennis Association (MSLTA).

Results: Girls (Final qualifying round): Rifat Masjid bt Roshni Kapoor 4-0, 4-1; Ruchita Ugalmugle bt Nikita Deshmukh 4-1, 4-1.

Boys (2nd qualifying round): Nikhil Passi bt Sahil Inamdar 4-5 (7-2), 5-4 (7-1), 5-4 (7-1).

UNI