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Tennis
Tennis: Mann Shah into the Finals of Roland-Garros Junior Wild Card Series
In the presence of legendary tennis player Justine Henin, the Semi-Final matches of the India-edition of the Roland-Garros Junior Wild Card Series 2019 took place here at the RK Khanna Tennis Complex, DLTA on Tuesday which saw top-seed Mann Maulik Shah and 4th-seed Madhwin Kamath win their respective matches to qualify for the Final match in the Boys' category. In the Girls' category, it was top-seed Salsa Aher who got knocked out as she lost to 4th-seed Shaikh Humera, while unseeded Sarah Dev caused another upset as she defeated 2nd-seed Bhakti Shah to advance to the Final match in the Girls' category. Roland-Garros Junior Wild Card Series culminates on Wednesday where Mann Maulik Shah, Madhwin Kamath, Shaikh Humera and Sarah Dev will be taking part in their respective Final matches to fight for the ticket to Paris, in the presence of Roland-Garros Brand Ambassador Justine Henin. In the Boys' catergory, top-seed Mann Maulik Shah displayed his brilliance as he defeated 3rd-seed Kabir Hans from Odisha in straight sets 6-3, 6-2. The match saw the top-seeded player from Gujarat produce a master-class as he ran away with the victory, and qualified for the Final match of the competition for the second consecutive year. Whereas, in the other Semi-Final match, it was 4th-seed Madhwin Kamath who came out on top as his opponent, 2nd-seed Dev V Javia could not compete in the second set of the match. After having lost the first set to Kamath 4-6, Javia tried to battle in the second set but had to retire himself from the match after picking up an injury. This meant that Gujarat's Kamath registered his place in the Final match, and will be facing top-seed Shah on Wednesday. The Girls' category saw 2nd-seed Bhakti Shah, who had produced a fantastic straight-set victory in her Quarter-Final match on Monday, lost to unseeded player from Punjab, Sarah Dev in straight sets 3-6, 4-6. It was Dev who started the match brightly as she rushed a healthy lead to take the first set 6-3, and then managed to consolidate her position in the match as she bagged the second set 6-4. In the other Semi-Final match, it was a disappointing result for top-seed Maharashtra's Salsa Aher as she had to resign to a defeat after retiring herself in the second set of her match against 4th-seed Shaikh Humera. The latter had started the match well as she took the first set 6-1, while Aher did not look comfortable in the second set, and had to concede the match to the impressive Humera, who will now face Sarah Dev in the Final match on Wednesday. After the conclusion of the Semi-Finals, the 16 participants from the Boys' and Girls' categories were greeted by Roland-Garros Brand Ambassador and legendary Belgian tennis player Justine Henin, who conducted a special tennis clinic for the participants. "The Queen of Clay” had also started her career at the Roland-Garros Junior Tournament when she won the Girls’ singles title in 1997. In her professional life, Henin won seven Grand Slam championships, four of which were earned at the Roland-Garros, and the 36-year-old legend was seen sharing her experience and knowledge with the young Indian players. The winners of the competition will get a chance to compete at the International Finals of the Roland-Garros Junior Wild Card Series with winners from China and Brazil, where the eventual winners will get the chance to be a part of the Roland-Garros 2019 Junior Draw. Following are the results: Boys: Semi-Final 1: Madhwin Kamath(4) bt Dev V Javia(2) 6-4, Retd; Semi-Final 2: Mann Maulik Shah(1) bt Kabir Hans(3) 6-3, 6-2; Girls: Semi-Final 1: Shaikh Humera(4) bt Salsa Aher(1) 6-1, Retd; Semi-Final 2: Sarah Dev bt Bhakti Shah(2) 6-3, 6-4; Order of Play, Wednesday, 1st May 2019: Boys: 3rd-4th Playoff: Kabir Hans(3) v Dev V Javia(2) Final: Mann Maulik Shah(1) v Madhwin Kamath(4) Girls: 3rd-4th Playoff: Salsa Aher(1) v Bhakti Shah(2) Final: Shaikh Humera(4) v Sarah Dev
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