Vaishnavi enters pre-quarters with an upset win at ITF Women’s Open

Gurugram: Vaishnavi Aadkar, coming after three qualifying rounds, on Wednesday scripted an upset victory over the much-accomplished Japanese Akiko Omae to enter the pre-quarterfinals of the ITF Women’s Open Gurugram W35.

In a first round encounter played at The Tennis Project courts, 19-year-old Vaishnavi won 6-4, 2-6, 6-1 in a match that lasted close to two hours.

Fifth seed Sahaja Yamalapalli, Shrivalli Rashmikaa Bhamidipaty, wild card entrant Riya Bhatia were the other Indians who entered the round of 16 along with Ankita Raina and Zeel Desai who had won their opening round singles yesterday.

In the biggest upset of the day, Japanese Okuwaki ousted fourth seed Diana Marcinkevica of Latvia in straight sets 7-5, 6-4.

Vaishnavi began on a tentative note losing her serve in the 3rd game to give her Japanese rival an advantage. However, the Indian achieved a break in the very next game before edging 3-2 ahead. Both the opponents broke each other’s serve in 8th, 9th and 10th games, the last of which, helped Vaishnavi win set.

Stung by the reverse, Akiko who has six ITF title under her belt and a wealth of experience, achieved an early break in the third game to go 3-1 up in the second set. After a prolonged deuce-advantage situation, the visitor was able to hold her serve in the sixth game which gave her the confidence to break her opponent’s serve in the next game before serving for the set.

The final set proved to be a one-sided affair with Akiko showing signs of desperation as she committed several unforced errors. Vaishnavi raced to a 4-0 lead with two breaks in the 2nd and 4th game. However, she got broken in the next game but came back strongly to win the next two games including a break in the 6th game. The highlight of the deciding set was the third game where Vaishnavi served brilliantly which unnerved her opponent furthermore.