It all winds down to the final days of Junior Tennis Nationals that will be the pivotal days that would decide who will go home with the silverware. With over twenty titles on offer in the Junior National segment, all rivalries will come down to the tennis courts at the SLTA premises to decide the final title contenders.
ThePapare.com takes a look at the key players in this exciting final days of the 100th Junior National Title hunt.
Anika Seneviratne
The fourteen year old Anika Seneviratne has been an emerging spectacle in the tennis arena stealing quite a deal of attention. Representing the country earlier in this year in the ITF Junior Championships, Anika brought glory to the country by winning the under 14 singles defeating Pakistani top seed Mahin Qureishi.
Anika continued her form from her international run to the local circuit starting from the Colombo Championships which was concluded a month back winning the Under 16 Singles title and ending up in the finals of the under 18 singles as well as the under 14 doubles. Hailing from Ladies College, Anika will be playing this year’s singles & doubles of the under 14 & 16 age categories.
Nethmi Waduge
Up and coming eighteen year old Nethmi Waduge will be the main contender for the celebrated Girls Under 18 Singles in the Junior Nationals. The former ATP player, Nethmi Waduge has had an excellent season thus far winning almost all the silverware that was on offer. Earlier this year, Waduge gave a rude shock to the defending national champion in the Colombo Championships Womens Open singles winning the title 2-0. She later continued her form on to win the under 18 title in the same tournament to take home a double crown.
Currently placed in the semi finals of the Girls Under 18 Singles, Waduge is expected to go the distance and most likely be the title holder this year.
B Suren
The top seeded player in the Under 18 Singles, B Suren is tipped to take the under 18 singles national title this week. A product of Royal College, Suren has had a formidable run in the local circuit this season starting off winning the Otters title and later taking honors in the Colombo Championships. The recently concluded All Island Schools Championships saw his alma-mater and St. Peter’s College ending up in the finals. Despite losing the encounter, Suren ended up winning his draw for Royal College.
Suren also will be playing the Under 18 doubles with his partner in crime and Royalist C Kuganeshan and will be looking to work their way through the doubles as well.
Chehan Fernando
The Roy-Pete rivalry in tennis will continue into the Junior Nationals as the under 18 title will be between Suren and Fernando. Fernando who made his mark in the 100th Colombo Championships stunning his rival Suren to take home the under 18 title will be expecting to the same this Junior National championships as well.
Hailing from the Negombo, Fernando was first spotted in the mini Tennis tournament held in Negombo and later moved to St. Peter’s College to nurture his talents following the footsteps of the greats such as Dineshkanthan Thangarajah. Fernando will find his title conquest a tough challenge as the zealous Suren will be looking for revenge when they will meet in the semi-final of the under 18 title and only one of them could make their way to the finals.
