Stroke with intensity and competed with conviction, Soha Sadiq beat Russia’s second seed Anna Ureke in the first round of the $15,000 ITF women’s tennis tournament at Tennis Project, Baliava, on Wednesday. The 23-year-old Soha had taken a 6-5 lead in the first set when the Russian retired with a hand injury. In the pre-quarterfinals, Soha will face junior player Shruti Ahlawat in the competition. Top seed Zeel Desai was in trouble against qualifier Vanshika Choudhary but returned from the middle of the second set to turn the tide in her favor. Zeel will now play the character of Akanksha Niture. Fourth-seeded Vaidehi Choudhary went all-out against Denmark’s Elena Jamshidi in the first set but lost her cool in the next two sets to win three games. Eighth seed Sravya Shivani was tested by Nandini Dixit, who trains at the same venue but showed fine court art and sharp strokes in straight sets.
good day for sharmada
Sharmada Balu insisted that she deserved a wild card as she defeated Sahaja Yamalapalli in three sets. Sharmada swung Sahaja around the court and executed the winners with punch and precision. Sharmada also joined Audience to win the doubles pre-quarterfinals against Vanshika Choudhary and Kavya Khirwar. Sharma and Sarvya had lost in the first round of doubles on clay last week.
Result: Singles (1st round): Jil Desai bt Vanshika Choudhary 4-6, 6-3, 6-1; Smriti Bhasin bt Soumya Wig 6-1, 1-6, 6-1; Vaidehi Choudhury bt Elena Jamshidi (Denmark) 3-6, 6-1, 6-2; Pooja Ingale bt Shriya Atturu (USA) 6-4, 7-6(5); Audible Shivani bt Nandini Dixit 6-3, 7-5; Humera Berhams bt Bela Tamhankar 7-5, 6-0; Sai Samhita bt Suhita Maruri 6-3, 6-0; Punin Kovapitukted (was bt Jagmeet Kaur 6-1, 6-3; Sharmada Balu bt Sahaj Yamalpalli 6-3, 2-6, 6-3; Soha Sadiq bt Anna Ureke (Russia) 6-5 (retired).
Doubles (Pre-quarterfinals): Farhat Aleen Qamar and Yubarni Banerjee bt Avishka Gupta and Sahaj Yamalpalli 6-2, 6-4; Shreya Tatavarthy and Soumya Vig bt Aarti Munia and Pratibha Narayan 6-2, 6-0; Sai Samhita and Soha Sadiq bt Akanksha Niture and Satwik Sama 6-4, 6-2; Hamra Berhams and Srivalli Bhamidipathi bt Smriti Bhasin and Jagmeet Kaur 6-2, 6-1; Sharmada Balu and Sravya Shivani defeated Vanshika Chaudhary and Kavya Khirwar 6-1, 7-5.
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