Tennis: Lakshmiprabha stuns Soha in opener
Mysuru: Qualifier Lakshmiprabha Arunkumar from Tamil Nadu showcased her immense talent with a stunning win over sixth-seeded Soha Sadiq of Karnataka in the first round of the $15,000 ITF Mysuru Open – Women’s World Tour at Mysuru Tennis Club, here yesterday.
The 19-year-old, handpicked by the Tamil Nadu Tennis Association into their ‘Next Level’ programme, outplayed her seasoned rival 6-2, 6-2 to set up a second-round meeting with fellow Indian Yashaswini Panwar.
It was also curtains for another Karnataka player, Kashvi Sunil. The 15-year-old qualifier had her chances but let an error-prone fourth seed, Riya Bhatia, off the hook. Riya, who kept complaining about a few line calls and even called the ITF supervisor on court after being handed a code violation, won 6-3, 7-5.
However, wildcard entrant Harshini N. Nagaraj from Bengaluru more than made up for the twin setbacks. The 17-year-old, playing her maiden ITF women’s event, did a Houdini act against qualifier Aditi Rawat.
Down 1-5 in the decider, the gritty Harshini saved two match points and rallied in splendid fashion against a tiring rival in energy-sapping heat for a 6-4, 4-6, 7-5 victory in two hours and 25 minutes. Showing maturity that belies her age, the Bengaluru teenager began in confident fashion against Aditi, engaging her in long rallies and forcing her opponent into errors. After taking the opening set, she erred at crucial junctures in the second set that Aditi capitalised on.
Down 1-5 in the decider, the gritty Harshini saved two match points and rallied in splendid fashion against a tiring rival in energy-sapping heat for a 6-4, 4-6, 7-5 victory in two hours and 25 minutes. Showing maturity that belies her age, the Bengaluru teenager began in confident fashion against Aditi, engaging her in long rallies and forcing her opponent into errors. After taking the opening set, she erred at crucial junctures in the second set that Aditi capitalised on.
Aditi pocketed the second set and took a runaway lead in the decider. But Harshini held her nerve and staged a valiant fight back, reeling off six games in a row to make it a memorable debut. She takes on giant-killer Smriti Bhasin in the second round.
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