Mohit, Prerna triumph at National Tennis Championship

New Delhi: Mohit Mayur Jayaprakash and Prerna Bhambri capped a brilliant week by clinching the men`s and women`s singles titles respectively at the Fenesta Open National Tennis Championship on Saturday.

Arjun Kadhe, like last year, had to be content with the runner-up finish and lost out to Mohit in straight sets 3-6, 1-6 at the R K Khanna Tennis Complex. Prerna successfully defended her women`s singles crown with a 6-2, 6-1 win over top seed Shweta Rana. It was a sweet revenge for Mohit, who had lost to Arjun in the semi-finals last year but the big-serving Tamil Nadu boy ensured that there were no hiccups this time. "It feels great to win the national title and I hope to break into the top-600 by the year end," said Mohit. Prerna did not drop a set in the entire tournament and dominated her opponents throughout. Shweta had been in good form, although she was tested in the later stages of the event. But it was tough going against the experience of Prerna. "I thought she played well and I was pushed hard especially in the first set. I hope to continue the way I am playing and I have a few tournaments to play later this year," said Prerna. The final between Mohit and Arjun was always billed as the match of the tournament but it was the top seed who dominated the proceedings and justified his top billing in the tournament. Mohit broke Arjun very early in the opening set and although the Maharashtra boy did try to come back into the match, the top seed warded off all his attempts. There were some good rallies exchanged in the match but once Arjun was broken in the second game of the match, Mohit ensured that he held on to the advantage to win the opening set. In the second set, Mohit ensured that he took the early advantage and capitalized on the three break points that he earned in the first game to break Arjun. Thereafter, Arjun was broken twice again as Mohit raced to win the men`s singles crown.