The Hindu : Sport / Tennis : Sunitha Rao packs off Neha Uberoi

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Wednesday, Mar 19, 2008
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Sunitha Rao packs off Neha Uberoi

Special Correspondent

GREATER NOIDA: Sunitha Rao served a warning to the rest of the field as she packed off Neha Uberoi for the loss of two games in the first round of the $25,000 ITF women’s tennis tournament at the Jaypee Greens Sports Complex here on Tuesday.

Rousing start

The second-seeded Sunitha got off to a rousing start. She stepped up the quality of her game as the match progressed to snuff out the challenge of the 345th ranked Neha.

Though Neha could open her account only after 10 games, she did play very well as the tough rallies testified.

She started off with an ace but could not force her way forward after being ahead 40-0 in that opening game.

It was the same story through the match as Neha struggled to keep pace with the fluent game of the 175th ranked Sunitha who was quite smart in pinning her rival on the backhand.

Sanaa survives

Wild card Sanaa Bhambri was the only other Indian to join Sunitha in the singles pre-quarterfinals. Sanaa led 6-1, 3-1 and had a breakpoint in her favour in the fifth game when her opponent Veronika Chvojkova retired, as the Czech was unable to cope with the heat.

The results:

Singles (first round): Nudnida Luangnam (Tha) bt Sonal Phadke 6-0, 6-1; Montinee Tangphong (Tha) bt Poojashree Venkatesh 6-1, 6-4; Aniko Kapros (Hun) bt Anastasia Poltoratskaya (Rus) 6-0, 6-3; Sanaa Bhambri bt Veronika Chvojkova (Cze) 6-1, 3-1 (retd.); Vlada Ekshibarova (Uzb) bt Andrea Hlavackova (Cze) 3-6, 6-4, 7-6(3); Naomi Cavaday (GBR) bt Parija Maloo 6-1, 6-3; Varatchaya Wongteanchai (Tha) bt Mihaela Buzarnescu (Rou) 6-4, 2-6, 6-0; Ksenia Palkina (Kgz) bt Carmen Klaschka (Ger) 6-0, 6-7(4), 6-3; Margit Ruutel (Est) bt Lisa Sabino (Ita) 6-3, 6-4; Sandy Gumulya (Ina) bt Kristina Antoniychuk (Ukr) 6-3, 6-4; Sheng-Nan Sun (Chn) bt Ankita Bhambri 6-1, 6-4; Sunitha Rao bt Neha Uberoi (U.S.) 6-0, 6-2.

Doubles (pre-quarterfinals): Kelly Anderson & Chanelle Scheepers (RSA) bt Sandy Gumulya (Ina) & Nicole Rottmann (Aut) 6-4, 2-6, 10-5; Ayaka Maekawa (Jpn) & Isha Lakhani bt Cagla Buyukakcay & Pemra Ozgen (Tur) 7-5, 6-3.

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