The Hindu : Sport / Tennis : Sanaa overwhelms Paarul

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Sanaa overwhelms Paarul

Special Correspondent

GURGAON: A sharp spell of rain provided a dramatic twist to the fortunes of Sanaa Bhambri as the third-seeded Delhi girl turned the match around after a bad start to eventually outplay the National Games champion Paarul Goswami 1-6, 6-1, 6-2 in the quarterfinals of the $10,000 ITF women’s tennis tournament at the NTA Complex here on Thursday.

After having trailed 1-6, 0-1 before the rain interruption, Sanaa played her steady game, while Parul lost her way unable to retain faith in her own ability.

Sanaa won 12 of the next 14 games after the courts had dried to keep her title aspirations alive.

It was a saving grace for the Bhambri family, as the top-seeded Ankita Bhambri, the runner-up in the last edition at the same venue, had to retire midway through the first set with an abdomen muscle pull against Parija Maloo.

Parija who had trailed 2-4 before getting the quick entry into the semifinals, will have to tackle the guiles of Sanaa for a place in the final.

Poojashree moves up

Poojashree Venkatesh continued to torment the rest of the field and dismissed Sweta Kumari Solanki after an intense battle in the early part of the match.

Sweta also had to endure a spell of stomach cramps, and thus was not able to play her best game. Poojashree will be able to check her readiness for the Wimbledon junior event when she takes on the seventh-seeded Korean Sung-Hee Han who had won nine games in a row when her opponent, He Chun-Yan of China retired with fever and an upset stomach.

The results:

Singles (quarterfinals): Parija Maloo bt Ankita Bhambri 2-4 (conceded); Sanaa Bhambri bt Parul Goswami 1-6, 6-1, 6-2; Han Sung-Hee (Kor) bt He Chun-Yan (Chn) 6-0, 3-0 (retired); Poojashree Venkatesh bt Sweta Kumari Solanki 6-3, 6-0.

Doubles (semifinals): Sung-Hee Han (Kor)and Parija Maloo w.o. Ankita Bhambri and Sanaa Bhambri; Cassandra Chan and Julia Moriarty (Aus) bt Thuy-Dung Nguyen (Vie) and Poojashree Venkatesh 7-6(5), 4-6, 11-9.

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