The Hindu : Sport / Tennis : Yi sends Sonal packing

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Thursday, May 27, 2004

Sport

Sport - Tennis

Yi sends Sonal packing

By Kamesh Srinivasan

LUCKNOW, MAY 26. Sonal Phadke walked the tightrope once again with great dexterity, but stumbled in the climax of a marathon contest that lasted three hours and 21 minutes against the unfancied Yi Chen of Chinese Taipei in the pre-quarterfinals of the $10,000 ITF women's tennis tournament at the Oudh Gymkhana Club courts here on Wednesday.

The tall Taipei girl who pointed a finger heavenwards in triumph like the sprinters, suffered cramps towards the end but hit better when it mattered in scripting a memorable 6-7 (5-7), 6-3, 7-6 (7-4) victory over the third-seeded Sonal, who had survived two matchpoints against Geeta Manohar in the first round.

The composure with which Sonal fought the battle with her strong strokes on either flank despite a friendly serve that was not helping her cause, not even opting for the 10 minutes break that was offered before the third set as per the `heat rule' of the ITF, based on high temperature and humidity, was admirable.

The 21-year-old Sonal took one's breath away by saving as many as seven matchpoints, six from 0-40 in the tenth game of the decider, and one more in the 12th game, before losing the grip at 4-3 in the third set tie-break.

It was as good a fight as one can hope to witness at this level, and both the girls mustered sufficient energy to spank a few spectacular winners despite being sapped of all energy. Chen was able to win a few key points with her forceful and well-directed backhand crosscourt winners into the corner.

Chen, who partnered Sonal's younger sister Sagarika later in the evening for the doubles, bowing out rather tamely to the third-seeded Geeta Manohar and Liza Pereira, will be up against another player with a sound understanding of the game, Archana Venkataraman.

The Bangalore girl, Archana recovered from an indifferent start to tame the young Sandhya Nagaraj in three sets. The later played well, but could not handle the craft of the seventh-seeded Archana.

Sai Jayalakshmy impressed with her fluent game, as she swung the match around effortlessly against qualifier Dorian Driessen of the Netherlands. The fourth-seeded Sai struggled initially with her rhythm, of both the serve and groundstrokes, but settled down so nicely into her groove that she conceded a mere two games in wrapping up the second and third sets to assert her authority.

Sai will play Nudnida Luangnam of Thailand, the wiry lass who played for three hours in beating the fifth-seeded Susanne Aigner of Austria.

Liza Pereira was in a spot of bother against the free-stroking Karishma Patel, but saved four set points, two in the ninth game and two more in the tie-break to pull through in straight sets.

It was almost a similar fashion by which the sixth-seeded Liza had beaten Sheethal Goutham in the first round, in the second set tie-break.

The real challenge, however, will be in the quarterfinals when Liza takes on the second-seeded Ankita Bhambri. The Delhi girl, Ankita announced her good form with 11 aces as she blew away the poser from the national junior champion, Punam Reddy, for the loss of four games.

The tall left-hander, Punam started well, but once she got broken in the eighth game, she lost the momentum and failed to put her game together thereafter. Maybe, if Punam works on her mobility, she would be able to trouble the seasoned players a lot better, as she has the serve and strokes to play a quality game. Punam also delivered six aces in a lively contest that lost the tempo midway.

Wild card Parul Goswami gave a good account of herself on way to a three set defeat at the hands of Orawan Lamangthong of Thailand. The Thai will be up against the top-seeded Rushmi Chakravarthi who cruised into the quarterfinals, beating Samrita Sekar for the loss of three games in 46 minutes.

In doubles, the Thai combination of Orawan and Varanya Vijuksanaboon ousted the fourth-seeded Sheethal Goutham and Preeti Rao in straight sets.

The results:

Singles: Pre-quarterfinals: Rushmi Chakravarthi bt Samrita Sekar 6-0, 6-3; Orawan Lamangthong (Tha) bt Parul Goswami 2-6, 6-2, 6-3; Yi Chen (Tpe) bt Sonal Phadke 6-7 (5-7), 6-3, 7-6 (7-4); Archana Venkataraman bt Sandhya Nagaraj 4-6, 6-2, 6-4; Nudnida Luangnam (Tha) bt Susanne Aigner (Aut) 6-7 (5-7), 6-4, 6-1; Sai Jayalakshmy bt Dorian Driessen (Ned) 3-6, 6-2, 6-0; Liza Pereira bt Karishma Patel 6-3, 7-6 (10-8); Ankita Bhambri bt Punam Reddy 6-3, 6-1.

Doubles: Quarterfinals: Ankita Bhambri/Rushmi Chakravarthi bt Punam Reddy/Sandri Gangothri 6-1, 6-4; Orawan Lamangthong/Varanya Vijuksanaboon (Tha) bt Sheethal Goutham/Preeti Rao 6-2, 6-3; Geeta Manohar/Liza Pereira bt Yi Chen (Tpe)/Sagarika Phadke 6-2, 6-1; Sai Jayalakshmy/ Archana Venkataraman w/o Susanne Aigner (Aut)/Dorian Driessen (Ned). (Pre-quarterfinals): Orawan Lamangthong/Varanya Vijuksanaboon bt Anupama Rajur/Chirashanthi Rajur 6-2, 7-5.

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