ITF junior tennis: Russian top seed hands India’s Parwani a thrashing in round one

It was a one-sided game that saw tournament’s top-seed Maria Sholokhova moving around the court actively, while the Indian was lethargic.

PUNE Unseeded Bhakti Parwani bowed out of the tournament after she was handed a straight-set defeat by tournament’s top-seed Maria Sholokhova on day one of the main draw in the MSLTA-ITF Junior Grade 3 U-18 tennis championship at the Deccan Gymkhana tennis courts on Monday.

India's Bhakti Parwani fought back in the initial stages of the second set, but lost 6-0, 6-2 to the Russian opponent during the MSLTA-ITF Junior Grade 3 U-18 tennis championship played at the Deccan Gymkhana tennis courts on Monday. (HT PHOTO)

Parwani’s performance in the first set was absolutely shambolic as she failed to win a single point. The Indian fought back in the initial stages of the second set, but lost 6-0, 6-2 to the Russian.

Sholokhova simply capitalised on the complacent movement of Parwani during the first set. A completely one-sided game saw Sholokhova moving around the court actively, while Parwani was shockingly lethargic.

Sholokhova was menacing with her powerful double-handed backhand. Most of her hard-hit shots were not returned because Parwani failed to judge the power on them.

In the second set, Sholokhova slowed down a little. There was a change in Parwani’s game-play as well, as the Indian began moving and placing her shots. Sholokhova seemed a little unsettled for the first time in the match as she over-hit her forehand strokes. However, Sholokhova picked her pace up again and soon led 4-1.

Sholokhova was furious with the chair umpire after a decision did not go in her favour. The ball was called in, but Sholokhova suggested that it had bounced way outside the line.

After winning the remaining games in a period of six minutes, Maria Sholokhova swept aside unseeded Bhakti Parwani to advance into the next stage of the tournament. The Russian will also take part in the doubles category with her partner Kirara Morioka. The pair is seeded second.

After the match

“It was not a difficult match today. I hope I come up against a tough opponent soon. It is always nice to face-off against a good player and have thrilling rallies. That is the kind of game I enjoy. The surface is a little fast, but I can get used to it, ” said Sholokhova.

Results - Main Draw

Boys - Round 1

1-Patorn Hanchaikul (Thailand) bt Nishant Dabas (India) 6-1, 6-1

Akhilendran Indrabalan (India) bt Nikhil Niranjan (USA) 7-6(5), 6-3

Sushant Dabas (India) bt Jaishvin Sidana(India) 4-6, 7-5, 6-2

Chirag Duhan (India) bt 4-Uddayvir Singh (India) 6-3, 6-7(3), 6-1

Udit Gogoi (India) bt 6-Dragos Petre Popeanga (Romania) 6-1, 6-3

Vitek Horak (Czech Republic) bt Vansh Kapoor (India) 6-2, 6-0

Jack Loutit (New Zealand) bt Krishan Hooda (India) 6-2, 6-4

8-Daisuke Inagawa (Japan) bt Dhruv Tangri (India) 7-5, 0-6, 6-2

7-Aryaan Bhatia (India) bt Kartik Saxena (India) 6-1, 6-1

Rikuto Yamaguchi (Japan) bt Anargha Ganguly (India) 7-5, 6-1

3-Rostislav Galfinger (Kazakhstan) bt Denim Yadav (India) 6-3, 6-2

5-Mathias Musil (Czech Republic) bt Daksh Agarwal (India) 6-0, 6-0

Girls - Round 1

1-Maria Sholokhova (Russia) bt Bhakti Parwani (India) 6-0, 6-2

Sayaka Ishii (Japan) bt Sanjana Sirimalla (India) 6-2, 6-2

7-Zijun Jiang(China) bt Prerna Vichare (India) 7-6(7), 6-3

Vaishnavi Adkar(India) bt 5-Yu-Yun LI (Chinese Taipei) 6-2, 4-6, 7-6(5)

6-Salakhip Ounmuang (Thailand) bt Rutuja Chaphalkar (India) 6-3, 6-2

Xiaoyan XUE(China) bt Reshma Maruri (India) 7-5, 6-3

3-Lanlana Tararudee (Thailand) bt Malikaa Marathe (India) 4-0 Match Forfeited