PARIS: Arnav Paparkar's spirited run in the French Open boys singles came to an end in the third round, where he fell to the fourth-seeded American Jack Kennedy in straight sets. Kennedy, ranked 11 among ITF juniors and 426 on the ATP Tour, motored around the court using the wet, moisture-laden conditions well. He repeatedly drew the Indian wide on his backhand, the low bounce adding to Paparkar's misery, to score a 7-5, 6-2 win.
Paparkar, who stands 6 ft 1 in his tennis shoes, some four inches taller than his opponent, did well to change the pace and the length of his shots to fight his way back into the match after a poor start. He levelled at 2-2 and then 5-5. Kennedy, however, won eight of the next 10 games to wrap up the match.
Paparkar, who was back on court for the boys doubles, partnering Thailand's Kunanan Pantaratorn, went down to the top-seeds Brazil's Luis Guto Miguel and Slovenia's Ziga Sesko 3-6, 3-6 in the second round.
Balaji-Demoliner bow out
The Indo-Brazilian combination of Sriram Balaji and Marcelo Demoliner went down to second seeds Finland's Harri Heliovaara and Briton Henry Patten in the quarterfinals of the men's doubles action. Balaji, playing his first major quarterfinal, and Demoliner lost 3-6, 4-6 in just under 80 minutes.
