Vaidehee Chaudhari, Zeel Desai Headline Indian Advances into Round of 16 at ITF W35 Tumakuru Open

Tumakuru, May 6: Indian players made a strong impact in the ITF W15 Tumakuru Open, in the women’s singles Round of 32 even as eighth seed Akanksha Dileep Nitture suffered a surprising early exit at the Tumakuru University Tennis Stadium here on Wednesday.

In an all-Indian clash that set the tone for the day, Laxmisiri Dandu staged a remarkable comeback to overcome Prathyusha Rachapudi 1-6, 7-5, 6-3. After being completely outplayed in the opening set, Dandu showed tremendous resilience, turning the tide in a closely fought second set before carrying the momentum into the decider.

Kashish Bhatia was in ruthless form as she brushed aside wild card Amodini Naik 6-1, 6-1, underlining her intent with a commanding performance. Jennifer Luikham also impressed, battling past Chevika Reddy Sama 6-3, 4-6, 6-3 in a hard-fought three-set encounter.

Among the seeded Indians, third seed Vaidehee Chaudhari lived up to expectations with a composed 6-3, 6-4 win over local lass Soha Sadiq, while fourth seed Zeel Desai delivered the most dominant performance of the day, steam-rolling Jeetesh Kumari 6-0, 6-0.

However, the biggest talking point was the early exit of eighth seed Akanksha Dileep Nitture, who was outplayed by Arina Arifullina in a one-sided 6-1, 6-1 defeat. Nitture, coming into the tournament with solid credentials, struggled to find her rhythm against an aggressive and consistent Arifullina. The Indian failed to hold serve consistently and was put under relentless pressure from the baseline, resulting in one of the tournament’s first major upsets.

Top seed Justina Mikulskyte of Lithuania and second seed Zuzanna Pawlikowska of Poland had comfortable outings, cruising past their respective Indian opponents in straight sets. Sixth seed Ekaterina Yashina also progressed with ease, defeating Bela Tamhankar 6-2, 6-2, while Poland’s Zuzanna Kolonus advanced with a convincing win.

In the women’s doubles Round of 16, Indian pairs enjoyed a productive day. The duo of Soha Sadiq and Madhurima Sawant registered a 6-3, 6-2 win over Pooja Ingale and Prathyusha Rachapudi. Sreemanya Reddy Anugonda and Sahira Singh showed great fighting spirit to come back from a set down and win 3-6, 6-3, 10-6 against Laxmisiri Dandu and Chevika Reddy Sama.

Third seeds Akanksha Dileep Nitture and Japan’s Michika Ozeki, however, ensured there was no double disappointment for Nitture as they advanced with a gritty 6-3, 4-6, 10-6 win over Kashish Bhatia and Sonal Patil in a closely contested match.

Results:

Women’s Singles (Round of 32)

Laxmisiri Dandu (IND) bt Prathyusha Rachapudi (IND) 1-6, 7-5, 6-3;
Kashish Bhatia (IND) bt Amodini Naik (IND) 6-1, 6-1;
1-Justina Mikulskyte (LTU) bt Saumya Vig (IND) 6-1, 6-1;
Jennifer Luikham (IND) bt Chevika Reddy Sama (IND) 6-3, 4-6, 6-3;
3-Vaidehee Chaudhari (IND) bt Soha Sadiq (IND) 6-3, 6-4;
2-Zuzanna Pawlikowska (POL) bt Sreemanya Reddy Anugonda (IND) 6-0, 6-1
6-Ekaterina Yashina bt Bela Tamhankar (IND) 6-2, 6-2;
Arina Arifullina bt 8-Akanksha Dileep Nitture (IND) 6-1, 6-1;
Zuzanna Kolonus (POL) bt Aishwarya Jadhav (IND) 6-2, 6-0;
4-Zeel Desai (IND) [4] bt Jeetesh Kumari (IND) 6-0, 6-0;

Women’s Doubles (Round of 16)

Soha Sadiq (IND) / Madhurima Sawant (IND) bt Pooja Ingale (IND) / Prathyusha Rachapudi (IND) 6-3, 6-2;
Laxmisiri Dandu (IND) / Chevika Reddy Sama (IND) bt Sreemanya Reddy Anugonda (IND) / Sahira Singh (IND) 6-3, 3-6, 10-7;
3-Akanksha Dileep Nitture (IND) / Michika Ozeki (JPN) bt Kashish Bhatia (IND) / Sonal Patil (IND) 6-3, 4-6, 10-6.