Top seed Deepthi Venkatesan suffered a shock second-round exit in the Girls' Under-16 singles event at the 31st Fenesta Open National Tennis Championship at the DLTA Complex in New Delhi on Tuesday, 13 October, losing in straight sets to unseeded Unnathi Muralidhar. The upset is the most significant early-round result of the junior draws so far at this year's edition of India's premier national tennis tournament.

Muralidhar's Dominant Win

Unnathi Muralidhar, who hails from Karnataka, needed just 1 hour and 11 minutes to dismantle Venkatesan 6-2, 6-2 and advance to the third round. The scoreline was emphatic, suggesting she never allowed the top seed to settle into rhythm throughout the contest.

'It was really a good match; it was actually tough for me to play against the top seed,' Muralidhar said after the win. 'It was really a good experience; I had my coach with me, so it was an advantage. It's really good to be here and play at the Fenesta Open; this is my first time playing here, so it's really good.'

Other Key Girls' U-16 Results

While Muralidhar caused the day's biggest upset, second seed Tanusshri Sathesh and third seed Aaradhya Meena eased through the third round, dropping just three games between them. However, the churn at the top continued with fourth seed Aashi Kashyap and sixth seed Harsha Oruganti both falling in three-set battles — adding to the volatility in the Girls' U-16 draw.

Saroha Eyes a Double in Boys' U-16

Ribhav Saroha, who claimed the Boys' Under-18 singles title last week, remained on course for a notable double by advancing to the third round of the Boys' U-16 event. He defeated Rhunmaan Mahesh 6-2, 6-2 in just 1 hour and 22 minutes. Second seed Lakshya Chukka and third seed Paranjay Swiach also moved through, while fifth seed Divey Malk was upset in three sets by Parthiv Nallagundla.

Boys' and Girls' U-14 Highlights

Top seed Aarav Challani was clinical in the Boys' Under-14 draw, registering a comfortable 6-1, 6-1 victory over Rajishnu Poptani. 'It was definitely a good match. My opponent put up a good fight — it was better than the score suggests,' Challani said. He added that while he has long had his eye on the title, he is taking it one match at a time: 'Pressure is a privilege. I am happy to be the top seed and be one of the favourites for the tournament. I have had my eyes on this title for a long time, but it's very early to say now.'

Second seed Puneeth Manohar led a group of nine seeded players through their opening-round matches in the Boys' U-14 draw. In the Girls' Under-14 event, top seed Sarena Gahlot, second seed Siddhi Pandey, and third seed Zoha Qureshi all progressed from their second-round ties. 'It was a great match against Janvi Sawant. She played really well. The score was 6-2, 6-1. I also played really well in the first set — it was a tough match, but I played good and was able to win it,' Gahlot said.

Full Results

Boys' U-16 Singles — Second Round (Round of 32):
Ribhav Saroha (1) def. Rhunmaan Mahesh 6-2, 6-2
Lakshya Chukka (2) def. Aarav Patel 6-1, 6-2
Paranjay Siwach (3) def. Tanish Dasari 6-4, 7-5
Parthiv Nallagundla def. Divey Malik (5) 7-6 (7-2), 6-0
Yaj Malik (6) def. Hemdev Mahesh 7-6 (7-3), 6-4
Jeevith Sathish (7) def. Ashwin Kabilan 7-6 (7-3), 2-6, 6-2
Yashwin Dahiya def. Ishaayu Desai (9) 6-0, 6-2
Harsh Marwaha def. Rishi Yadav (11) 7-6 (7-5), 5-7, 6-3
Monodip Dey (12) def. Arnav Bhuyan 7-6 (7-5), 6-3
Gyansh Manchanda (13) def. Atharv Anand 5-7, 6-0, 6-4
Kaustubh Singh (14) def. Lakshay Drall 4-6, 6-4, 7-5
Anay Pandey (16) def. Aarav Mulay 6-3, 6-2
Kushagra Arora def. Chandra Kopparapu 6-2, 7-5
Aaryan Kirrtane def. Sujai Pothula 6-1, 6-1
Vivaan Mirdha def. Viraj Jarwal 6-0, 6-0
Vishwak Gunampally def. Sarvadnya Sarode 6-3, 6-4

Girls' U-16 Singles — Second Round (Round of 32):
Unnathi Muralidhar def. Deepthi Venkatesan (1) 6-2, 6-2
Tanusshri Sathesh (2) def. Sanidya Karantoth 6-1, 6-1
Aaradhya Meena (3) def. N. Krishnaprabhu 6-0, 6-1
Rishita Yadav def. Aashi Kashyap (4) 3-6, 6-3, 6-2
Aahida Singh def. Harsha Oruganti (6) 3-6, 6-2, 6-0
Ranjhana Sangram (7) def. Tejaswi Manneni 4-6, 6-4, 6-3
Sanmitha Harini (8) def. Manvi Gupta 6-3, 6-0
Zoha Qureshi (9) def. Sana Varadhamani 6-0, 6-0
Vrandika Rajput (11) def. Rabiah Dullet 4-6, 6-3, 6-4
Ilaiyanila Kannan (12) def. Mehul Malik 6-4, 4-6, 6-1
Khushi Kadian (14) def. Aniha Gavinolla 6-4, 6-4
Sidhhi Pandey (15) def. Sarithra Entoori 6-2, 6-1
A Brahadeeswaran def. Ruhin Kaushal (16) 6-2, 6-2
Pooja Nagaraj def. Sarena Gahlot 6-4, 6-3
Shravee Deore def. Budhya Khushi 6-2, 6-2

Boys' U-14 Singles — Second Round (Round of 32):
Aarav Challani (1) def. Rajishnu Poptani 6-1, 6-1

Boys' U-14 Singles — First Round (Round of 64):
Puneeth Manohar (2) def. Kabir Gundecha 6-1, 6-0
Nibras Hussain (3) def. Zaayn Mohammad 6-3, 6-0
Pranav Gaikwad (6) def. Ranveer Gawli 6-1, 6-4
Vishwak Gunampally (7) def. Rabeeb Ali Khan 6-2, 6-1
Adeshbir Ghuman (8) def. Kahaan Bhuva 6-1, 6-1
Sujai Pothula (9) def. Viraj Jarwal 6-2, 6-1
Vir Chattur (11) def. Tegveer Singh 6-3, 6-2
Devansh Kamboj (12) def. Sri Myneni 6-2, 3-6, 10-7
Soham Ransubhe (16) def. Ebinesh Suresh 6-2, 1-6, 10-8
Tejas Singh def. Daiwik Mann 6-2, 6-2
Vishnu Pandey def. Aksh Bora 6-0, 6-1
Manav Patel def. Kanishk Kanishk 6-2, 6-1
Shaurya Gadade def. Devansh Kumar 6-3, 6-0
Laqshya Tripathi def. Dhaiwik Arunkumar 4-6, 7-5, 10-8
Bhavik Garg def. K Vihaan Reddy 6-1, 6-0
Harsha Pudi def. Luv Pardeshi 6-1, 6-4
Hariharan Mahamuni def. Aarav Shah 3-6, 6-2, 10-8
Archan Pathak def. Hridayansh Pal 6-0, 6-1

Girls' U-14 Singles — Second Round (Round of 32):
Sarena Gahlot (1) def. Janhavi Sawant 6-2, 6-2
Sidhhi Pandey (2) def. Aaradhya Singh 6-4, 6-3
Zoha Qureshi (3) def. Sara Fengse 6-3, 6-2
Khushi Kadian (5) def. Shaurya Patil 6-2, 6-1
Saanvi Mohan def. Myra Shaikh (7) 6-4, 6-2
Purvi Patwa (8) def. Asmi Pitre 6-0, 6-1
Trisha Bhosale (9) def. Avni Arora 6-2, 6-2
Aaradhana Tehlan (10) def. Raima Chavan 6-1, 6-2
Aaral Vashishta def. Vaidehi Shinde (11) 6-1, 6-0
Kristi Haloi def. Falak Mehta (12) 6-3, 6-3
Aneeksha Gavinolla (13) def. Shubhi Sharma 7-5, 6-4
Atharva Peram def. Mrigakshee Changmai (14) 6-3, 6-1
Rishita Yadav def. Aditri Singh (15) 6-1, 6-2

With the draws entering the third round, the tournament will now test how quickly the unseeded upsetters can sustain their momentum against increasingly stiff opposition.