Sunil Kumar creates a flutter

Shailesh Soni

Junior India tennis star Sunil Kumar Sipaeya created a flutter at the 37th Belgian International Junior championships 2001, a grade 1 event being played at the Astrid Bowl, on Tuesday. The 17-year-old Chandigarh youngster upset the eighth seed and world No 22 Oscar Posada of Venezuela 4-6, 6-3, 6-0 to advance into the pre-quarter-finals.

Sunil will now face Lamine Ouahab, the big talent from Algeria, in the round of 16.

Ouahab, ranked 25 on the junior ITF listing, has been on a pretty good roll recently. Unseeded, he upset 12th seed Josh Cohen of United States 6-2, 6-4 in his second round match.

The upper half of the draw where Sunil is placed is now left with only three seeded players in the pre-quarter-final stage.

Rajeev Ram of the United States upset 15th seeded fellow-American Matthew Emery 6-1, 6-4 to reach the pre-quarter-finals.

Earlier, Sunil got past Jacob Olsen of New Zealand 7-5, 6-7, 6-4 in the first round, but the other Indian in the fray, Amanjot Singh, lost to the French qualifier Mathieu Montcourt 7-5, 6-0 in his first round match.

In doubles, Sunil Kumar and Amanjot Singh lost to the fourth seeded pair of Ytai Abougzir of United States and Luc Gregorc of Slovakia, 2-6, 3-6 in the quarter-finals.

Rohan Gajjar, the other Indian in the doubles, playing with Dias Doskaraev of Kazakistan also lost his quarter-final match to the sixth seeded American pair of Jonathan Chu and Jonathan Stokke 7-5, 3-6, 6-4.

Rohan Gajjar, who is part of the ITF junior team in Europe, lost in the third round of the singles qualifier.