Defending champion and India No. 5 Natasha Palha of Goa was taken the distance by young Laltia Devarakonda before prevailing in three sets in a women’s main draw first round match of the Rs 13 lakh AITA Ranking Anirudh Desai JVPG Tennis Tournament, hosted by JVPG, in association with Nine Hills, at their courts, here, on Monday.
Shweta Rana
In a match that lasted 2 and a half hours, Natasha prevailed 6-4, 4-6, 6-2 but not before facing some tough questions from Lalita, who had her chances in the decider had she played some of the bigger points better. With both players struggling to hold serves, the heavier ground strokes of Natasha saw her hold the advantage over her opponent.
Earlier, Delhi’s Shweta Rana got into the thick of action, pulling off an upset win over 5th seed Arthi Muniyan of TN. Taking advantage of some lacklustre play from Arthi, the strong Shweta Rana, a former India No.3 and making a comeback after three months due to injury, was quick to run away with the first set with one break of serve. The second set was a virtual no-contest as Shweta emerged a 6-4, 6-0 winner.
Shweta Rana ( Photo By Prasad Naik)
There were no hiccups for second seed Sharmada Balu of Karnataka, who announced her good form in this event with a no-nonsense 6-2, 6-2 win over Delhi’s Samriti Puanyani.
In men’s action, fourth seed Suraj Prabodh of Karnataka beat Chandigarh’s Ranjeet Singh 6-3, 6-3, while in a match between state mates, Karnataka’s S D Prajwal Dev brushed aside Suraj Beniwal 6-1, 6-1.
Main Draw results:
Men: Kunal Anand (DEL) bt Raghav Jaisinghani (MP) 6-2, 7-6 (7), 4-Suraj Prabodh (KA) bt Ranjeet Singh (CH) 6-3, 6-3 ; S.D Prajwal Dev (KA) bt Suraj Beniwal (KA) 6-1, 6-1; 8-Jayesh Pungaliya (MH) bt Sahil Gaware (MH) 6-3, 6-3.
Women: 1-Natasha Palha (Goa) bt Lalita Devarakonda (AP) 6-4, 4-6, 6-2; Shwetha Rana (DL) bt 5-Arthi Muniyan (TN) 6-4 ,6-0; 2-Sharrmada Baluu (KA) bt Samriti Punyani (DL) 6-2, 6-1; Baburaj Nithyaraj (TN) bt Saumya Vig (GJ) 6-1, 6-2; Nida Kamal (MH) bt Preethi Ujjini (KA) 6-2, 5-7, 6-0; Nandini Sharma (PB) bt Isha Budwal (MP) 6-4, 6-3; Sahan Shetty (KA) bt Dakshata Patel (MH) 6-3, 6-2; Himani Mor (HR) bt Neeru Rapria (HR) 6-1,conceded; Moulika Ram (AP) bt Sagarika Phadke (MH) 6-2 ,6-1.
Qualifying results:
Men: B.Y.Reddy (AP) bt Abhijeet Tiwari (CG) 3-6,6-3,1-1(rtd) ; Deb Bibaswan (WB) bt YashYadav (MP) 6-2, 2-6 6-1;Taha Kapadia (TS) bt Maitreya Bhagat (MH) 7-5, 7-5; Vanshal D’souza (MH) bt Ajinkya Bachav (MH) 6-4 ,6-4; Bhavesh Gour (MP) bt Saurabh Sharma (MH) 3-6, 6-3, 6-4; Armaan Bhatia (MH) bt C.Tarun (TS) 7-6(5), 6-4; Rithvik Anand (TN) bt S.Ravi Shankar (TN) 6-2 ,6-4, Rohin Gajree (HR) bt Raghavendra.S (KA) 6-1,7-5.