Qualifier Yubarani Banerjee knocked out fifth seed Sathwika Sama 6-2, 2-6, 6-2 in the first round of the $15,000 ITF women’s tennis tournament at the Joygaon Academy on Wednesday.
In a battle of wits that lasted two hours and 10 minutes, after early morning rain had delayed the proceedings till afternoon, Yubarani served and stroked with intensity to get the better of a fighting Sathwika.
In the decider, Yubarani ran away with the match from 1-1 to 5-1, but failed to serve it out. However, she broke Sathwika at love in the eighth game to close out the contest in style.
‘’I had lost on my birthday long ago. I know how it feels’’, said Yubarani, as she acknowledged Sathwika’s gutsy game on her birthday.
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In the pre-quarterfinals, Yubarani will meet fellow qualiifier Sandeepti Singh Rao who settled into a good rhythm to beat Smriti Bhasin. Returning from a knee injury, Sandeepti has been slowly
regaining her strong game under the guidance of coach Ankit Patel.
Another qualifier, Avishka Gupta fought on even terms against Sahaja Yamalapalli who pulled through to a 7-5, 6-4 victory in just over two hours.
Top seed Zeel Desai eased past qualifier Anjali Rathi and will face Elena Jamshidi of Denmark in the second round.
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Soha Sadiq played a robust game to get past the energetic game of qualifier Ishwari Matere, and will face fourth seed Vaidehi Chaudhari in the pre-quarterfinals.
In doubles, Sudipta Kumar and Riya Uboveja beat the third seeds Nidhi Chilumula and Saumya Vig 6-4, 6-3 to make the quarterfinals.
The results:
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