Defending champion and top seed Manish Sureshkumar produced a gritty comeback to advance to the semi-finals of the 31st Fenesta Open National Tennis Championship in New Delhi on 8 October, joined by third seed Nitin Sinha, who also booked his last-four berth in the men's singles draw.

Sureshkumar's Hard-Fought Victory

Sureshkumar overcame a 3-0 deficit in the deciding set to defeat Parth Aggarwal 6-1, 5-7, 7-5 in a contest that lasted close to three hours. The defending champion admitted to running on empty at stages during the match, but refused to capitulate.

'I think I started feeling a little weak physically. There was no energy in my legs. I was somehow trying to push myself and try to do my best. I thought the second set would be very crucial to finish it off in straight sets. I was also down in the third set, but I'm glad that I was able to find a way and get through,' Sureshkumar said.

'I just tried to stay there because the match can turn at any point in time. He might get nervous, or something like that could happen. I was just trying not to give up and trying my best, and I'm glad that it worked in the end,' he added.

Sinha Grinds Past Mehra in Semis Berth

Third seed Nitin Sinha dispatched eighth seed Rohan Mehra 7-6 (7-5), 7-5 in two hours and 22 minutes to set up a semi-final clash with Sureshkumar — his own doubles partner. 'I think it was a good match and a lot of ups and downs in both sets. I just tried to focus on every single point and try to focus more on my service points and see how it goes,' Sinha said. The two will face each other in what promises to be a compelling battle of familiarity.

Top Seeds Storm Into Doubles Final

Immediately after their respective singles wins, Sureshkumar and Sinha paired up to dismantle fourth seeds Jagmeet Singh and Parth Aggarwal 6-1, 6-4 in the men's doubles semi-finals. The top-seeded duo will face Srikar Doni and Rohith Gobinath — who stunned third seeds Aditya Balsekar and Pranav Karthik 6-3, 2-6, 10-6 — in Friday's final.

Notably, Suraj R Prabodh, who had earlier eliminated second seed Aditya Balsekar, continued his impressive run with a 6-3, 6-4 win over R Jaisinghani. He will face sixth seed Maan Kesharwani, who swept past Pranav Karthik 6-2, 6-4, in the other semi-final.

Women's Singles Semi-Final Line-Up

In the women's draw, top seed and two-time champion Vaidehee Chaudhari battled through a second-set lapse to beat fifth seed Aditi Rawat 6-0, 1-6, 6-2. 'In the second set, she played really well. I played badly, but she played really well. And in the third set, I was 1-2 down, but I hung in there, and I won five straight games. I was just thinking, let's hang in there and just focus on one point,' Chaudhari said. She will face fourth seed Sonal Patil, who edged Laxmi Siri Dandu 7-6 (8-6), 6-4.

Second seed Shruti Ahlawat defeated eighth seed Sohini Mohanty 6-4, 6-4 and will meet unseeded Soha Sadiq, who progressed after third seed Akanksha Nitture retired trailing 0-3 in the opening set with an upper-limb spasm.

Junior Events: Upsets and Finals Set

The junior draws threw up a significant upset as seventh seed Aahan Aahan stunned top seed Savitha Bhuvaneswaran 6-4, 6-2 in the girls' U-18 singles quarter-finals. Parthsarthi Mundhe and Harsha Oruganti also reached the semi-finals, while Riddhi Shinde ousted third seed Shreeniti Chowdhury 7-6 (7-3), 1-6, 6-2. In the boys' U-18 draw, Om Ramesh Patel, Yashwin Dahiya, Srikar Doni, and Ribhav Saroha all advanced to the last four.

The U-18 doubles finals are confirmed: top seeds Praneel Sharma and Aditya Mor will face Raghav Sarode and Om Ramesh Patel in the boys' final, while fourth seeds Sree Syleswari Velmanikandan and Riddhi Shinde meet third seeds Sanmitha Harini and Savitha Bhuvaneswaran in the girls' final. With the semi-finals set across all categories, the tournament heads into its decisive phase on Friday.