Rethin Pranav sets up second round against Donghyun Hwang

Sports Bureau

Rethin Pranav gave himself more time on court as he sparred with qualifier Hikaru Takahashi of Japan on way to a 7-5, 7-5 victory in the first round of the ITF junior tennis tournament at the DLTA Complex on Tuesday.

The 15-year-old Rethin, who trains with coach M Balachandran at the Rohan Bopanna Academy in the Sports School in Bengaluru, was dominant in spells, but was unable to get into a higher gear to close out the match earlier than he did.

In the pre-quarterfinals, Rethin will challenge the sixth seed and champion of the last tournament in Chandigarh, Donghyun Hwang of Korea.

Qualifier Cahir Warik played his heart out but could not stop second seed Amir Milushev of Uzbekistan from escaping to a 6-4, 4-6, 7-5 victory in a high-quality contest of admirable athleticism and energetic play.

Wiry Aditya Govila also gave glimpses of a strong game before being beaten 6-4, 6-2 by Se Hyuk Cho of Korea.

American of Indian origin, top seed Adhithya Ganesan subdued Joewyn Rey Pascua of Philippines in three sets.

In the girls section, Aishi Bisht played well before being beaten 6-4, 7-5 by Asylzhan Arystanbekova of Kazakhstan 6-4, 7-5.