Sanjana Sirimalla starts WTA Future stars event with straight sets win

Sanjana Sirimalla got off to a fine start as she beat Rosie Sterk of Britain 4-1, 4-0 in a league match of the under-16 section in China.

.Sanjana Sirimalla (right), who is coached by Radhika Tulpule Kanitkar, has been placed in a seven member group in the under-16 event.(File Photo)

Sanjana Sirimalla got off to a fine start as she beat Rosie Sterk of Britain 4-1, 4-0 in a league match of the under-16 section in the WTA Future Stars junior tennis event at the Shenzhen Bay Sports Centre, China on Tuesday.Sanjana will have tougher opponents from China and Japan to fight on the morrow.

In the under-14 event, Pari Singh beat Ngai Fan Eva Cheung of Hong Kong 4-1, 4-1, but was beaten in the next two league matches, 2-4,4-2, 10-7 by third seed Anja Nayar of Malaysia and 4-2, 5-4(5) by Jinhang Shao of China.

While Pari will have three more matches in the league over the next two days, while Sanjana will have five more. The toppers from each of the four groups will make it to the semifinals, in both the age groups.