The Hindu : Sport : Rushmi rallies to remove Riner

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Friday, May 25, 2007
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Sport

Rushmi rallies to remove Riner

Nandakumar Marar

Ankita, Meghha also in last four

MUMBAI: Nicole Riner, proving to be a fast learner on her first Indian summer at the MSLTA ITF Women's Circuit Tennis, took a set off top seed Rushmi Chakravarthi in women's singles quarterfinal play at the Ranade Tennis Complex. The Indian recovered to post a 1-6, 6-3, 6-2 victory for a place in the semifinals.

Meghha Vakaria, seeded sixth and familiar with Mumbai conditions in May, stands in her path. The latter came through after Australian rival Cassandra Barr retired with the Indian leading 7-5, 1-0.

Ankita Bhambri survived some anxious moments against unseeded Giorgia Mortello in the decider for a 6-3, 2-6, 6-3 victory. The question is whether she can sustain the energy levels needed to survive Marinne Giraud in the semifinals. The fourth seed from Mauritius trounced doubles partner Isha Lakhani 6-1, 6-1 for her second back-to-back semifinal over two ITF weeks in India.

Bright start

Riner, a 17-year-old from Switzerland who trains in Germany, showed the nagging consistency in groundstrokes to keep a hard-hitter like Rushmi from lashing returns with authority. The youngster moved her Indian rival around court, created openings and reeled off winners to grab the first set and set off a buzz in the stands. The top seed shrugged off the setback, banked on reach and power to keep Riner on the defensive and took a stranglehold on the match when the Swiss girl began gifting away points under pressure.

Ankita won the first four games against Mortello, an unseeded Italian, who countered the Indian's powerplay in the second set, had a breakpoint at 5-3 in the third but could string together enough points to turn the match around.

She also qualified for the doubles final, partnering sister Sanaa Bhambri. Marinne teamed up with Isha Lakhani to clinch the second final place.

The results:

Singles: Quarterfinals: 1-Rushmi Chakravarthi bt Nicole Riner (SUI) 1-6, 6-3, 6-2; 2-Ankita Bhambri bt Giorgia Mortello (ITA) 6-3, 2-6, 6-3; 4-Marinne Giraud (MRI) bt Isha Lakhani 6-1, 6-1; 6-Meghha Vakaria bt 3-Cassandra Barr (AUS) 7-5, 1-0 ret.

Doubles: Semifinals: 3-Marinne Giraud (MRI) & Isha Lakhani bt 1-Rushmi Chakravarthi & Mariana Muchi-Torres (VEN) 6-2, 6-1; 2-Ankita Bhambri & Sanaa Bhambri bt Vishika Chhetri & Poojashree Venkatesha 6-3, 6-2.

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