Tuesday, Nov 11, 2003
Tuesday, Nov 11, 2003 |
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Tennis
By Nandakumar Marar
Nevertheless, her appearance before fellow competitors, with whom she had been hitting against just last week, should have infused fire in the hearts of Indian girls going through the grind on Monday. Sania, as talented as most of them, has made the breakthrough into the major league, helped along the way by her hunger to win and by her resourceful parents who organised sponsorship support at the right time. The Wimbledon junior girls' champion spoke about the importance of taking small, vital steps towards getting a foothold on the senior circuit. "The $10,000 events are important for Indian girls at this stage because tournaments like these will help them gain ITF points," said the 16-year-old girl, a surprising but apt choice as the guest of honour. It was business as usual for her former rivals at the Deccan Gymkhana, sweating for points against dogged opponents, as Sania flew back to Hyderabad for a short break before heading for a three-week training programme under Bob Brett. It is learnt that she will be accompanied by C.G.K. Bhupathi, Mahesh Bhupathi's father. The deal has been organised by Globosport, Mahesh's company now functioning as the young Indian's agent. Many fellow players like Pune's own Radhika Tulpule have managed to create opportunities on the ITF circuit but are yet to strike a balance between inherent talent and temperament to rise above rankings. Radhika, very much at home on the Deccan Gymkhana hardcourts, troubled fifth seed Chantal Coombs in her first round singles match but was unable to take a leaf out of Sania's book and take the battle to the rival camp. The unseeded Pune girl, winner of ITF titles in the recent past, stretched the Briton to the tie-breaker in the first set with serve-and-volley tennis and then struggled to sustain the momentum as Chantal won 7-6 (7-2), 6-2 in 75 minutes. Chantal double-faulted in the last four games of the first set to be stretched to the tie-breaker after the local girl had overcome a late start to level 4-4. The fifth seed breathed easier in the second after surging ahead in the fifth game, Radhika unable to force the pace. Sonal Phadke found herself in trouble against the determined Geeta Manohar before winning in straight sets, though needing 90 minutes to force a 6-3, 7-6 (7-4) verdict. Qualifier Parul Goswami showed fighting instincts late in the afternoon to win a marathon first round tie against unseeded Ragini Vimal. The ITF event is sponsored by National Egg Co-ordination Committee. The results (Indians unless specified): Singles (first round): Sonal Phadke bt Geeta Manohar 6-3, 7-6 (7-4); Ankita Bhambri bt Nandini Perumal 6-2, 6-3; Parul Goswami bt Ragini Vimal 4-6, 7-6 (8-6), 6-2; 6-Megha Vakharia bt Rati Kumar 6-1, 6-3; 5-Chantal Coombs (GBr) bt Radhika Tulpule 7-6 (7-2), 6-2; 3-Karen Paterson (GBr) bt Shradha Lodha 6-3, 6-0; Shruti Dhawan bt Nidhi Shah 6-1, 6-1. Doubles (first round): 1-Akgul Amanmuradova (Uzb)/Chin-Bee Khoo (Mal) bt Karin Marlies Lems (Ned)/Maria Penkova 6-0, 6-0; Montinee Tangphong/Thassha Vitayaviroj (Tha) bt Iciri Rai/Preeti Rao 7-6 (7-3), 6-2.
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