The Hindu : Sport / Tennis : Sanaa Bhambri outplays Vivian Segnini

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Sanaa Bhambri outplays Vivian Segnini

Special Correspondent

MUZAFFAR NAGAR: Sanaa Bhambri shrugged off a bad start to outplay the second-seeded Vivian Segnini of Brazil 6-3, 6-2 in the quarterfinals of the $10,000 ITF women’s tennis tournament at the Services Club here on Thursday.

Watched by an appreciative crowd that backed the Delhi left-hander heartily, Sanaa wielded the racquet with dexterity to pull off a creditable victory over the fleet-footed and fluent stroking Brazilian girl ranked 327 in the world.

Early break

Sanaa got broken in the second game and slipped to 0-3, but fought back despite the first serve deserting her for the better part of the match. She reeled off six games in a row, to pocket the set.

Into the second set, Sanaa got broken in the first game, but she not only broke right back but reeled off four games in a row.

While Sanaa played with considerable intensity, banking on her limited resources, running hard for smart retrieves and stroking with a lot of guile, the Brazilian girl with a strong game lacked the temperament to do justice to her ability.

Emily in last four

The fifth-seeded Sanaa will meet the British girl, Emily Webley-Smith who adjusted her game nicely to the grasscourts to get past the third-seeded Leonie Mekel of the Netherlands.

The fourth-seeded Rushmi Chakravarthi was the other Indian to make the semifinals, as she beat compatriot Poojashree Venkatesh 6-1, 7-6(3).

It could have been a lot easier for Rushmi as she led 5-2 in the second set, but the towering Poojashree fought very well to force the tie-break, saving a matchpoint in the tenth game. It was Rushmi’s better game that prevailed in the end, and the fight would help her be sharp against the 230th ranked Nicole Thyssen on the morrow.

Parul bows out

It should be interesting to see Rushmi match the top-seeded Dutch girl, who stroked comfortably past Parul Goswami for the loss of three games. Parul matched her stocky opponent stroke for stroke, but lacked the confidence to fight better.

In doubles, qualifiers Treta Bhattacharya and Shalini Sahoo made the final, beating the second-seeded Vivian Segnini of Brazil and Emily Webley-Smith of Britain 10-6 in the match tie-break. The duo will meet the top-seeded Sanaa and Rushmi.

The results:

Singles (quarterfinals): Nicole Thyssen (Ned) bt Parul Goswami 6-1, 6-2; Rushmi Chakravarthi bt Poojashree Venkatesh 6-1, 7-6(3); Emily Webley-Smith (Gbr) bt Leonie Mekel (Ned) 6-4, 7-5; Sanaa Bhambri bt Vivian Segnini (Bra) 6-3, 6-2.

Doubles (semifinals): Sanaa Bhambri and Rushmi Chakravarthi bt Geeta Manohar and Archana Venkataraman 6-3, 6-2; Treta Bhattacharya and Shalini Sahoo bt Vivian Segnini (Bra) and Emily Webley-Smith (Gbr) 6-4, 5-7, 10-6. Quarterfinals: Geeta Manohar and Archana Venkataraman bt Prerna Mythri and Parija Maloo 5-7, 7-6(2), 10-6.

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