Poojashree Venkatesha had a Friday to forget here at the PET Courts. Along with her fade-out in both the singles and doubles events, Indian hopes too ebbed away on the penultimate day of the Sri Chamundeswari Sugars Mandya Open ITF women's tennis tournament.
The day began with Poojashree's inept serve against Thailand's Luksika Kumkhum in the singles semifinal, which the Indian lost at 1-6, 5-7. The first set proved to be a lopsided tussle as Poojashree held serve only in the fifth game.
Tame first serves
Seventh-seeded Poojashree's tame first serves proved easy fodder for the eighth-seeded Kumkhum's double-fisted backhands.
In the second set, Poojashree remained sluggish in the beginning before she found her breath and slowed down the pace to unsettle Kumkhum's rhythm. Strangely for the Thailand lass, her game briefly collapsed, especially in the sixth game in which she suffered five double faults.
Poojashree soon sewed up a 5-3 lead and was serving for the set at 40-15 before she slumped with a double fault and an unforced error. Kumkhum immediately surged ahead and sealed her spot in the final.
Later in the day, Poojashree teamed up with Rushmi Chakravarthi but there was no change in fortunes as the duo played second fiddle to the ebullient pair of Peangthan Pliphuech and Nungnadda Wannasuk from Thailand in the doubles final. The Indian combine suffered a 1-6, 1-6 loss.
Vasylyeva prevails
In between Poojashree's angst, top-seed Anastasiya Vasylyeva of Ukraine overcame a dogged resistance from Great Britain's Emily Webley Smith, seeded third, to win 7-5, 2-6, 7-5.
In a match distinguished by its intensity and adroit rallies and also marred by a few errant line calls, Vasylyeva remained in the hunt right through and effortlessly pulled away after her rival suffered an ankle injury in the final minutes.
The results (Indian unless specified).
Singles: Semifinals: Anastasiya Vasylyeva (Ukr) bt Emily Webley Smith (GBR) 7-5, 2-6, 7-5; Luksika Kumkhum (Tha) bt Poojashree Venkatesha 6-1, 7-5.
Doubles: Final: Peangthan Pliphuech & Nungnadda Wannasuk (both Tha) bt Rushmi Chakravarthi & Poojashree Venkatesha 6-1, 6-1.
