Soha Sadiq, the winner of the last event, defeated second seed Anna Ureke of Russia in the opening round of the $15,000 ITF women’s tennis tournament at the Tennis Project, Baliawas, on Wednesday.
Soha, who is 23 years old, had a 6-5 lead in the first set when the Russian retired due to an arm injury. Soha will face Shruti Ahlawat, the event’s junior entrant, in the pre-quarterfinals.
1st seed Zeel Desai was in difficulty against qualifier Vanshika Choudhary, but she battled back from the middle of the second set to win. Zeel’s next performance will be at Akanskha Nitture.
Fourth seed Vaidehi Chaudhary was all at sea against Elena Jamshidi of Denmark in the first set but regained her composure to win the next two sets for the loss of three games in all.
Vaidehi Chaudhary, the fourth seed, struggled in the first set against Elena Jamshidi of Denmark but recovered to win the next two sets for a total of three games.
Sravya Shivani, the eighth seed, was pushed by Nandini Dixit, who trains at the same center, but she displayed superb court craft and quick strokes to win in straight sets.
After defeating Sahaja Yamalapalli in three sets, Sharmada Balu claimed that she earned the wild card. Sharmada manoeuvred Sahaja about the court, delivering punchy and precise winners.
Sharmada also teamed up with Sravya to defeat Vanshika Choudhary and Kavya Khirwar in the doubles pre-quarterfinals. Last week, Sharmada and Sravya fell in the first round of doubles on clay.
Results
Singles (first round): Zeel Desai bt Vanshika Choudhary 4-6, 6-3, 6-1; Smriti Bhasin bt Saumya Vig 6-1, 1-6, 6-1; Vaidehi Chaudhari bt Elena Jamshidi (Den) 3-6, 6-1, 6-2; Pooja Ingale bt Shria Atturu (US) 6-4, 7-6(5); Sravya Shivani bt Nandini Dixit 6-3, 7-5; Humera Baharmus bt Bela Tamhankar 7-5, 6-0; Sai Samhitha bt Suhitha Maruri 6-3, 6-0; Punnin Kovapitukted (Tha bt Jagmeet Kaur 6-1, 6-3; Sharmada Balu bt Sahaja Yamalapalli 6-3, 2-6, 6-3; Soha Sadiq bt Anna Ureke (Rus) 6-5 (retired).
