Manika Batra upsets Bernadette Szocs, reaches WTT Champions quarterfinals in Montpellier

World No. 30 Batra won 3-1 (11-9, 6-11, 13-11, 11-9) in 29 minutes against the Romanian in a closely contested round of 16 clash.

FILE PHOTO: Manika Batra in action. | Photo Credit: RITU RAJ KONWAR / The Hindu

Manika Batra stunned World No. 14 Bernadette Szocs to reach the quarterfinals of the WTT Champions event in Montpellier, France, on Friday night.

World No. 30 Batra won 3-1 (11-9, 6-11, 13-11, 11-9) in 29 minutes against the eighth-seeded Romanian in a closely contested round of 16 clash.

The Indian saved two game points in the third game. Szocs took a time-out while trailing 4-7 in the must-win fourth iteration. However, Batra managed to counter a late comeback from her fellow 29-year-old opponent and converted her second match point to seal the deal, taking a 6-5 lead in the head-to-head record.

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Batra had also beaten Szocs in India’s 3-2 win the pre-quarterfinals of the Paris Olympics. The Indian, who made history by becoming the first-ever player from the nation to reach the round of 16 in singles at the Olympics in the French capital, will next take on China’s Qian Tianyi on Saturday.

World No. 21 Qian shocked top seed and compatriot Wang Yidi 3-0 (11-7, 11-9, 13-11) in their round of 16 match.

Batra began her campaign with a dominant 3-0 (11-4, 11-8, 12-10) win over USA’s Lily Zhang.

Sreeja Akula, the other Indian in the draw, went down 3-2 (6-11, 11-7, 11-1, 8-11, 11-8) to World No. 13 Adriana Diaz of Puerto Rico in the first round.