Sabina Sharipova shocked third seed Yanina Wickmayer of Belgium 3-6, 6-4, 6-2 to set the tone for the evening in the quarterfinals of the $125,000 WTA Mumbai Open at the Cricket Club of India here on Friday.
After the sparse gathering had watched Dalila Jakupovic outplay qualifier Alize Lim of France in the first match, it was a refreshing return to high quality tennis between an athletic player and a powerful opponent.
Lim was literally limping through the match, as she had a big tape running on to her knee on the left leg. Thus, it was no surprise that Jakupovic, who was far too sharp and clever, did not let the French girl back into the match after getting off to a brisk start.
Much in contrast, the 23-year-old Sharipova, ranked a modest 186, got increasingly better as the match progressed against the former world No.12 Yanina Wickmayer, who had made the US Open semifinals in 2010.
While the 28-year-old Wickmayer, ranked 115 at the moment, reached the Australian Open round of 16 in 2010 and 2015 as a regular in the Grand Slams, Sharipova has not entered a Major so far.
Pedigree meant very little, as Sharipova moved well and stroked with intensity against an opponent who had a big serve and fired three aces. In fact, Sharipova had as many as nine double faults in the match that lasted nearly two hours. Yet, the Uzbek’s overall game was so solid that she overcame all hurdles for a memorable victory in her maiden meeting against the Belgian.
Jakupovic had a memorable day as she made the doubles final with Irina Khromacheva of Russia after a straight-set win over the fourth-seeded Juia Glushko and Priscilla Hon.
Meanwhile, the wiry Naomi Broady, with her big serves, sharp strokes, silken athleticism and a delightfully efficient single-handed backhand, promised a lot as she jumped to a 3-1 start against top seed Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus.
However, the 27-year-old British girl was unable to carry on as she dropped serve twice on double faults to gift back the initiative to the powerful Sabalenka who was ripping the returns.
The 19-year-old Sabalenka gained a stranglehold over the proceedings with her power play and snuffed the challenge from the wiry Briton.
The results: Singles (quarterfinals): Aryna Sabalenka (Blr) bt Naomi Broady (G.Br) 6-4, 6-2; Sabina Sharipova (Uzb) bt Yanina Wickmayer (Bel) 3-6, 6-4, 6-2; Dalila Jakupovic (Slo) bt Alize Lim (Fra) 6-3, 6-1.
Doubles (semifinals): Jakupovic & Irina Khromacheva (Rus) bt Julia Glushko (Isr) & Priscilla Hon (Aus) 6-3, 6-2.
