NEW DELHI, December 25

V Peter Agnel Gladwin (Maharashtra) stayed on course to giving himself a belated Christmas present by entering the boys under-16 and under-14 finals at the DSCL Open National Tennis Championship at the DLTA Complex here on Thursday On a day when the sun gave Delhi a respite from blustery conditions, Gladwin scored straight set victories over Krishna AS Suresh (Andhra Pradesh) in the under-14 contest and left-handed GP Pranjesh (Tamil Nadu) in the under-16 semifinal to stay on course to a grand double.

In the girls section, Parija Maloo (Maharashtra) quelled a spirited fightback by Delhi's Sanjana Kapoor by tracing her steps away from a defensive mould to win the girls under-14 semifinal but was found wanting in the under-16 semifinal against Shivika Burman (Bengal) later. Parija enjoyed top-seeding in both under-14 and under-16 draws.

Gladwin will meet No. 10 seed Vijayant Malik (chandigarh) in the under-14 final. Malik controlled the pace of his semifinal with the third-seeded V Vignesh admirably to complete a come-from-behind win in three sets. Malik, who took out top-seeded Kinshuk Sharma in the quarterfinals, visited the net often with fair amount success and hustled Vignesh into making mistakes as well.

Kinshuk Sharma will be Gladwin's opponent in the under-16 final. Sharma ran out an easy winner over fellow Chandigarh player No. 8 Paras Thakur, who had beaten the second-seeded Sai Saketh in the quarterfinals.

Parija, who hails from Kamgaon but spends some time training with Balachandran Manikkath in Pune, allowed Sanjana to rally from a set down and 2-5 in the second to take the under-14 contest into the decider. Sanjana played aggressive tennis to win six games in a row to lead 1-0 in the third set before Parija found her bearings again. Parija has her task cut out when she meets the big-hitting GK Swetha (Karnataka) in the under-14 final. Swetha found her rhythm quickly and showcased her powerful strokes as she swept aside Shivika in the other semifinal, dropping just two games in either set.

Shivika, seeded fifth in the under-16 draw, put aside memories of that loss aside quickly as she toppled Parija in the semifinal, blanking the top seed in the second set. She will take on the athletic No. 4 Daksha Mulay (Maharashtra) for the title. Daksha was a facile winner over second-seeded Anukriti Prasad (Delhi).

The results (semifinals):

Boys under-16 singles:
Peter Agnel Gladwin (Maharashtra) beat GP Pranjesh (Tamil Nadu) 6-2, 6-2;
Kinshuk Sharma (Chandigarh) beat Paras Thakur (Chandigarh) 6-0, 6-3.

Girl's under-16 singles:
Shivika Burman (Bengal) beat Parija Maloo (Maharashtra) 6-4, 6-0;
Daksha Mulay (Maharashtra) beat Anukriti Prasad (Delhi) 6-4, 6-3.

Boys under-14:
Vijayant Malik (Chandigarh) beat V Vignesh (Tamil Nadu) 2-6, 6-1, 7-6 (1);
Peter Agnel Gladwin (Maharashtra) beat Krishna AS Suresh (Andhra Pradesh) 6-2, 6-1.

Girls under-14 singles:
Parija Maloo (Maharashtra) beat Sanjana Kapoor (Delhi) 62-, 5-7, 6-2;
GK Swetha (Karnataka) beat Shivika Burman (Bengal) 6-2, 6-2.