Sharrmadaa emerges champion

Sowjanya was not at her best and required medical attention

Third seed Sharrmadaa Baluu beat seventh seed Sowjanya Bavisetti 6-2, 6-3 in the final of the $10,000 ITF women’s tennis tournament here on Saturday.

It was the second singles title at this level for the 21-year-old Sharrmadaa who had won her maiden title on grass in Lucknow in 2011, when her name could be spelt a lot easier. She has seven doubles titles to her credit, including two in partnership with Sowjanya.

Riding on a strong serve, Sharrmadaa dictated the flow of the contest, and wound up the show in style with two successive aces.

The 716th Sharrmadaa did drop her serve twice, once in each set, but handled the challenge with composure to squeeze through in an hour and 18 minutes.

The 21-year-old Sowjanya who has won two singles titles at this level was not at her best and required medical attention on her serving left shoulder.

She did come up with commendable shots, but was no match for Sharrmadaa in terms of athleticism or consistency of strokeplay.

Sowjanya could have made a better fight of it, but after having broken back for 3-4 in the second set and leading 40-0, the Andhra girl failed to win another point till the end, except on a double fault by Sharrmadaa.

After starting the match by struggling to hold serve, which she eventually did by saving two breakpoints, Sharrmadaa converted seven of nine breakpoints to ensure 12 WTA points.

Sowjanya had to be content with seven WTA points.