Mumbai Open WTA tennis: Fearless Shrivalli Bhamidipaty storms into main draw

Mumbai: India’s Shrivalli Bhamidipaty continued to play freely and fearlessly and produced another remarkable performance to outduel Viktoria Morvayova of Slovakia registering a 6-3, 3-6, 6-3 win in the second and final qualifying round match of the Mumbai Open WTA 125K tennis championship on Centre Court at the Cricket Club of India on Sunday.

Shrivalli is the lone Indian in the qualifying round draw to make it to the main draw. India’s Vaidehi Chaudhari lost to Amandine Hesse of France 3-6, 1-6, while wild card entrant Zeel Desai retired after losing the first set 7-5 against top seed Himeno Sakatsume of Japan on Centre Court.

A two-time Indian national champion, Shrivalli, started in the same aggressive fashion as in her first-round straight-set win against second seed Valentini Grammatikopoulou from Greece on Saturday.

The 22-year-old Shrivalli, who had won her maiden ITF women’s title in Bengaluru last November, with clever tactics quelled the fight from her Slovak opponent who bravely battled on despite encountering some discomfort at the start of the third set.

After the third game Viktoria, tailing 0-3 took a medical time-out. She continued to take treatment during changeovers but did not throw in the towel. She carried on fighting and even broke Shrivalli in the seventh game and held serve in the next to narrow the lead to 3-5 before Shrivalli went on to close out the match with a fierce passing shot in the ninth game of the deciding set.

Lina Glushko of Israel, sixth seed Fanny Stollar of Hungary and Thailand’s Peangtarn Plipuech are the other players to qualify for the main draw, which will commence on Monday.

Results – qualifying (round-2):

Shrivalli Bhamidipaty (IND) bt Viktoria Morvayova (SVK) 6-3, 3-6, 6-3; Amandine Hesse (FRA) bt Vaidehi Chaudhari (IND) 6-3, 6-1; Lina Glushko (ISR) bt Camilla Rosatella (ITA) 6-3, 6-3; 1-Himeno Sakatsume (JPN) bt Zeel Desai (IND) 7-5, retired; 6-Fanny Stollar (HUN) bt Sohyun Park (KOR) 6-4, 6-3; Peangtarn Plipuech (THA) bt Chia Yi Tsao (TPE) 6-3, 6-3.

–IANS