India advanced to the Group I competition of the BNP Paribas Federation Cup Asia-Oceania tennis championship with a 2-1 victory against Philippines at the Sports Authority of Telangana State (SATS) Tennis complex here on Saturday.
After Prarthana Thombare secured a facile 6-3, 6-1 victory over Anna Clarice Patrimonio, Ankita Raina succumbed to Katharina Lehnert 6-2, 5-7, 5-7. Thombare then joined hands with Sania Mirza in the doubles to turn things India’s way with a 6-3, 6-3 win against Lehnert and Patrimonio.
Decisive shot-making
In a contest driven by decisive shot-making, Thombare took charge early, breaking Patrimonio in the second game itself.
The Pune lass took the sting out of the Filippino’s serve with some defensive lobs, while holding the whip-hand with her own.
Prarthana’s flat-hit first serves packed enough punch to squeeze out service winners by the handful and keep her campaign going in full throttle.
As if to underscore her authority, Prarthana won the ninth game at love to clinch the first set.
She piled on the pressure right from the outset in the second, wresting the first game itself, replicating the feat in the third and fifth as well. Patrimonio exacted revenge in the sixth to win her first game. Prarthana returned the favour in the next to wrap up yet another rubber with apparent ease.
Raina ruled in the first set, winning games two, four and eight when receiving while dropping serve in the seventh. Few doubted her ability in settling the issue in straight sets. Chinks appeared in the Ahmedabad girl’s armour in the second set’s seventh game, an offensive lob going long and costing her the game on serve.
Lehnert, born to a German club footballer father and Filippino mother, raised her game several notches and revealed the same survival instincts that had helped her side in Friday’s play-off.
Superior stamina held her in good stead as she hung on grimly to claw her way back in the second. In the decider, Lehnert, a Filippino magazine’s cover girl, showed admirable grit on the big points for a well-deserved victory.