Dev, Chirag reach Roland Garros Jr Wild Card series final

New Delhi, Feb 25 (IANS) Top seed Dev V Javia registered yet another clinical win as he defeated Nitin Singh 6-2, 6-1, to set up a final showdown with Chirag Duhan on the second day of the Roland-Garros Junior Wild Card Series at the Delhi Lawn Tennis Association (DLTA) here.Third seed Duhan also cruised to the final after winning 6-1, 6-0 against Mohit Bondree. In the Girls' semi-finals, the unseeded players put on spirited performances to knock out the two top seeds. Vaishnavi Adkar played out of her skin to make a memorable comeback and defeat 2nd seed Akanksha Nitture 3-6, 6-3, 7-5, while Sanjana Sirimalla defeated top seed Reshma Maruri in straight sets 6-4, 7-5. The finals will take place Wednesday and the two winners will then travel to Paris to play against their counterparts from Mexico, Brazil and China, in a bid to qualify for the main draw of the Junior Roland-Garros Championships.The tournament's brand ambassador and four-time Grand Slam champion Mary Pierce was on the side-lines watching the day's events unfold. "I am delighted to be back in India, watching the junior stars of Indian tennis in action", said Pierce. "I know from personal experience the crucial role Junior tennis plays in improving the game of budding players and laying a solid foundation for their careers. I am quite impressed by the standard of the game I have seen so far. This reaffirms my belief that India has real potential to be a tennis powerhouse in the future."
--IANS rkm/bg