The Hard Court National 2023 organized by Sri Lanka Tennis association successfully concluded on the 5th of April. This tournament kick-started on the 20th of March and over the course of the past 2 weeks, was played in 3 different venues, namely Royal College courts, SLTA Courts and Queens Courts.
In the open category, the Men’s Singles Final saw Apna Perera from Ananda College defeat Kiran Viravanathan in a three-set match. Despite losing the first set 6-3, Perera managed to take the last two sets by 7-6 and 6-4 to clinch the title. To reach the Finals, Apna defeated the number two seed, Thehan Wijemanne (6-3, 6-1) in the quarter-final before edging out Thangaraja Dineshkanthan (6-2, 3-6, 6-3) in the semi-final.
On the other hand, Vishakian Dinethya Dharmarathne beat Janali Manamperi in straight sets (7-6, 6-1) to win the Women’s Singles Final. On her way to the finals, Dinethya defeated Nesangi Hemakumara (6-3, 3-6, 6-3) in the quarter-final before securing a 6-0, 6-2 win over Tuvini de Alwis in the semi-final.
In other categories, the Girls’ U-12 Finals saw Gianna Perera emerge victorious, defeating Hesandee Mallawa 6-2, 6-2. In the U-16 Girls’ Finals, Ivanka Samarasinghe beat Vinethya Dharmarathne, who won the first set by 5-7 but ultimately conceded the last two by 7-5 and 6-1. Chamidu Abeysinghe won the U-14 Boys’ Final by beating Ashlin de Silva in straight sets (7-6, 6-1). In the Women’s Doubles Final held on Tuesday, Saajida Razick and Dinara de Silva won against Janali Manamperi and Neyara Weerawansa by 6-4, 6-4.
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