Tennis: 11-yr-old Manas Dhamne wins junior grand slam in the US

Pune lad 11-yr-old Manas Dhamne on Saturday defeated Maxwell Exsted of the USA 3-6, 6-0, 10-6 to claim U-12 Boy's Singles title at the Eddie Herr International Tennis Tournament in Florida. With this feat, Dhamne becomes the first Indian to win the tournament, which is considered as a Grand Slam of juniors and one of the biggest tennis junior tournaments in the world. He's also in doubles final.

After winning the first set, the 4th seed Manas dropped the second set without winning a single game but he pulled off a terrific comeback against the third-seeded Exted in a neck-to-neck contest. In the semifinals, he had defeated Korea's second-seeded Ryu Changmin 6-1, 6-1.

Manas had captured the imagination of Indian tennis last month by winning the Les Petits As – Asia Playoffs and has now proved his mantle in another big event.

The Eddie Herr International Junior Championship at IMG Academy welcomes over 2,000 junior tennis players from over 90 countries! This elite tournament attracts the world's most competitive tennis players. Many current professionals not only have participated but have also won this tournament including: Maria Sharapova, Jelena Jankovic, Whitney Osuigwe, Miomir Kecmanovic, Michael Mmoh, Andy Roddick, Xavier Malisse and many more.