Paris: Arnav Paparkar relied on a powerful serve, winning 81 percent of first-serve points, to defeat 15th seed Kuan-Shou Chen of Chinese Taipei and advance to the third round of the French Open boys' singles. Encouraged by a small group of Indian fans cheering in Hindi and Marathi, the 18-year-old secured a 6-2, 6-4 victory in 72 minutes.
Dominant Performance
Paparkar took early leads in both sets, setting the pace in a match that could have been challenging. Chen, standing 5 feet 5 inches and strong from both wings with heavy spin, is known for his endurance. Paparkar's first serve reached speeds of 185 and 198 km/h, and he effectively used drop shots, clearly having prepared well.
"I had a tactic, and it worked," Paparkar said. "I knew he was going to grind. My tactic was to bring him to the net and give him heavy shots on his backhand and play aggressively. I managed to do it consistently."
Doubles Success
Two hours later, Paparkar partnered Thailand's Kunanan Pantaratorn in boys' doubles, winning 7-6 (7), 6-2 in 77 minutes against Britain's Mark Ceban and Russia's Kirill Filaretov in the first round.
Maaya Bows Out
India's Maaya Rajeshwaran Revathi fought hard but lost 6-7(6), 4-6 to eighth-seeded Russian Mariia Makarova in the second round of junior girls' singles after one hour and 37 minutes. The match featured tight rallies, with Maaya holding a set point in the first-set tie-break at 6-5. She tried to dictate in the second set but appeared to lack full physical strength.
"It came down to a few decisions. I should have converted the set point," Maaya said. "I had my opportunities. She played better when it mattered the most."
Balaji-Demoliner in Quarterfinals
The Indo-Brazilian pair of Sriram Balaji and Marcelo Demoliner defeated sixth seeds Kevin Krawietz and Tim Puetz of Germany 7-5, 6-4 to reach the French Open quarterfinals. Puetz's serve was off, and he lacked sharpness, but Balaji and Demoliner, playing only their fourth tournament together with just one win from their first three, stepped up at crucial moments.
Balaji, in his first Grand Slam quarterfinal, attributed the slow start to nerves. "We knew that Tim hasn't been at his best from the start of the tournament, but they're not going to give it to us, we knew we had to go take it from them," Balaji said.
They will face second seeds Harri Heliovaara and Henry Patten in the quarterfinals. "At this level, it's about who executes better on the day," Balaji added. "We'll sit down and talk and hopefully we'll be able to play our best tennis in the quarters."
