Preethi, Nupur enter quarter finals

Mumbai: Sixth-seed Nupur Kaul of Maharashtra beat state rival Madhuri Patere in straight sets to book a place in the singles quarter-finals on day three of the Rs 1.5-lakh Khar Gymkhana All India ranking women`s tennis tournament on thursday.

Nupur recorded a facile 6-2 6-4 in the second round match after staving off a determined fightback from her rival in the second set to enter the last eight. Nupur next runs into Haryana`s Himani Mor, who overcame the stiff challenge of Karnataka`s Abilasha Vishwanath 6-1 6-4, for a place in the semis. Abilasha had ousted third seed Aryali Chavan in the first round. Top seed Preethi Ujjini of Karnataka easily disposed off Haryana`s Shrishti Dhanda, who had made it to the main draw as a lucky loser, to join Nupur in the quarter finals. She won the one-sided match 6-3 6-0. Preeti now meets Maharashtra`s Pareen Shivekar in the semis. The latter crushed state rival Supriya Zende, a lucky loser, 6-1 6-0 inside an hour. Pareen was at her attacking best from the start and maintained that momentum throughout the match.