Nova and Rishika share a light moment during the Tata Steel tennis meet. Picture by Srinivas

Jamshedpur, Dec. 12: They have fought against each other at several national tennis tournaments. So the clash at the ongoing Tata Steel-All India Tennis Association (AITA) Super Series Tennis Championships was nothing new.

Meet the national top three seeds in the girls’ under-14 category — Divija Mandwa, Nova Akshay Patel and Rishika.

Top-seeded Divija said: “Most of us have been playing against each other for a long time. It is basically a fight between the top five seeds.”

For second-seeded Nova, the toughest fight would be the match against Rishika, a third-seeded player. “She has strong lobs and she is only one who gives me a tough fight,” said Nova.

Rishika, on the other hand, is concentration on her serves and forehands. Beware Nova! “I would like to stay on the winning streak.”