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Tennis
By Kamesh Srinivasan
Rushmi Chakravarthi of India executes a double-fisted backhand on way to victory over Julia Vorobieva of Russia in the semifinals of the ITF women's tennis tournament at Muzaffar Nagar on Friday. — Photo: Sandeep Saxena
Battling with a sore lower back, that required constant attention from the doctor, Bargil had to counter the nagging accuracy of Archana in the hot sun. The Israeli had the serve and the strokes to bail her out of trouble, not to forget a stout heart and a strong will. Full credit to Archana as she fought till the end, despite her limited resources. If anything, both the girls did not lack guts which was well appreciated by the sparse gathering. The top-seeded Rushmi Chakravarthi was able to quell the challenge from an inexperienced Julia Vorobieva of Russia 6-4, 6-4 earlier, in the other semifinals. The day undoubtedly belonged to Bargil. She had the patience to counter the guiles of Archana, who strove hard for every point. Pitted against a taller and stronger player, Archana played well within her limitations. It was Bargil's ability to save the breakpoints that tilted the balance in her favour. In the first set, Bargil saved breakpoints in the first, fifth and 11th games. That proved decisive, even though Bargil had got broken in the third and seventh games. Every time she faced a breakpoint Archana was broken promptly — in the fourth, sixth and 12th games. In the second set, Archana found her wonted rhythm and saved breakpoints in the second and fourth games and broke Bargil in the fifth to take a 4-2 lead. However, she could not drive home the advantage, as she got broken in the eighth and tenth games, even as she broke Bargil in the ninth to ensure a tie-break. Bargil banged a winner to take a 4-2 lead in the tie-break and let out one of her many war cries. Archana responded to the challenge, winning five of the next six points to force the decider. It was Archana who started the third set better, as she not only saved two breakpoints to hold serve but also broke Bargil in the second. However, Bargil broke Archana in the third, and saved a breakpoint in the sixth. Bargil served for the match at 6-5, after breaking Archana with a forehand down the line. Archana was not done yet. She broke Bargil at love in the 12th, sending two successive backhands down the line, to put things on par. In the decisive tie-break, Bargil called the shots, gathering her last ounce of energy, to quickly take a 5-2 lead, as Archana was unable to move well and erred on her strokes. Archana won the next two points to increase the suspense, before two errors, a netted return and an overhead into the net on match-point, brought the shout of joy from Bargil's dried up throat. ``It feels great. I didn't play well, but I won. I struggled with my back through the match. Archana played well. I felt better when playing the slice and not serving that hard. When I sat during the change-over I felt the pain. That was why I didn't want to stop playing'', said Bargil with a smile. It was a brave effort from Bargil, not just because she made the final, but also because she had recovered from a knee injury last season to return to the professional circuit. She had won two titles in the $10,000 events in Israel, but Bargil was obviously happy to make another final on her return into the circuit this season. It will be a difficult exercise for Bargil to be at her best against Rushmi who will be looking for her first title of the season. Rushmi has won four titles from seven finals so far in her career. Having made the final of the first tournament in Mumbai a fortnight back, Rushmi will be keen to pin that elusive title. The 18-year-old Julia Vorobieva had the game but not the right game plan to stretch Rushmi this day. Rushmi played better as the match progressed, but there were many situations in the contest when the Russian could have capitalised on the favourable flow. After an initial exchange of breaks, Julia was up 3-1, but her indifferent serve saw her lose the initiative, as she was broken in the fifth and seventh games. Rushmi served very well thereafter to wrap up the first set. In the second set, Rushmi saved breakpoints in the second, fourth and eighth games, even as the tall and athletic Julia tried everything she knew to win the initiative. Despite serving a few aces in the second set and stroking much better than before, Julia, who had dropped only five points in her previous four service games, dropped serve in the ninth without a fight. It was pure inexperience. Rushmi served out the match, converting her second matchpoint as Julia put a backhand return out. The contest lasted just over an hour. With the singles and doubles finals scheduled for Saturday, Rushmi was happy to conserve every ounce of energy for the final assault. The results (semifinals): Rushmi Chakravarthi bt Julia Vorobieva (Rus) 6-4, 6-4; Heli Bargil (Isr) bt Archana Venkataraman 7-5, 6-7 (5-7), 7-6 (7-4).
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