Ramkumar Ramanathan, Arina Rodionova, and Vishnu Vardhan combined strong once again to power Bengaluru SG Mavericks to a 46-34 victory over Mumbai Leon Army in the Tennis Premier League on the charcoal grey courts of the Shiv Chhatrapati Sports Complex on Saturday.
Ramkumar was particularly impressive as he beat Ernests Gulbis 15-5. Mumbai did pull one back thanks to Karan Singh and Vijay Sundar Prashanth beating Ramkumar and Vishnu 11-9. However, there was no stopping Bengaluru from topping the table and qualifying for the semifinals, with 219 points.
Punjab Patriots was well served by Conny Perrin as it made the semifinals with a 43-37 victory over Pune Jaguars, the favourite whipping boy for all the teams. Digvijay Pratap Singh and Arjun Kadhe tilted the balance in favour of Punjab with a 12-8 victory over Lukas Rosol and Rithvik Bollipalli.
Delhi Binny’s Brigade gave itself hope by edging out two-time champion Hyderabad Strikers 41-39, thanks to Jeevan Nedunchezhiyan turning the tide first in partnership with Sahaja Yamalapalli and then with Dennis Novak.
Delhi, with 201 points, was waiting for the result of the match between Bengal Wizards (164) and Gujarat Panthers (157) to finalise the last two semifinal slots.
The results:
Bengaluru SG Mavericks bt Mumbai Leon Army 46-34 (Arina Rodionova bt Sowjanya Bavisetti 11-9; Ramkumar Ramanathan bt Ernests Gulbis 15-5; Arina & Vishnu Vardhan bt Sowjanya & Vijay Sundar Prashanth 11-9; Ramkumar & Vishnu lost to Karan Singh & Vijay 9-11).
Delhi Binny’s Brigade bt Hyderabad Strikers 41-39 (Sahaja Yamalapalli lost to Ellen Perez 8-12; Dennis Novak lost to Niki Poonacha 8-12; Sahaja & Jeevan Nedunchezhiyan bt Ellen & Saketh Mynnei 14-6; Dennis & Jeevan bt Niki & Saketh 11-9).
Punjab Patriots bt Pune Jaguars 43-37 (Conny Perrin bt Diana Marcinkevica 14-6; Digvijay Pratap Singh lost to Lukas Rosol 7-13; Conny & Arjun Kadhe tied Diana & Rithvik 10-10; Digvijay & Arjun bt Lukas & Rithvik 12-8).
