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Pune’s Vaishnavi Adkar in amazing fightback to enter ITF u-18 semis
Local favourite beats Sandeepti Singh Rao in the two hours and ten minutes match.
PUNE After playing for two hours and ten minutes straight, in a thrilling match full of twists and turns, Pune’s Vaishnavi Adkar got the better of Sandeepti Singh Rao in the quarter-finals of the MSLTA-ITF Junior Grade 3 U-18 tennis championship at the Deccan Gymkhana tennis courts on Thursday.
After losing the first set, Rao recovered take the second set. The deciding set went into a lengthy tie-breaker, which saw Adkar emerging victorious in the end with a final score of 6-4, 4-6, 7-6 (11-9).
Rao took an early two-game lead in the first set, while Adkar got off the mark in the third. Playing forehand strokes, Adkar tried to tire Rao out as she levelled the score in the fourth game. The difference between the scores of the two Indian players was never more than one game.
Every time either of the players took the lead and tried to extend it, the other pulled level. The scenario stayed the same till the eighth game as the score was deadlocked at 4-4.
Throughout the match, Rao’s shots were flying very close to the net, nicking it on several occasions. In the ninth game, Rao committed a double fault and eventually smashed a couple of shots into the net, gifting easy points to her opponent.
In the following game, she committed the same mistakes and Adkar pounced on the opportunity to take the last game and the first set of the match.
In the second set, Adkar got off to a complacent start. Till the eighth game, there was just a difference of one game separating Adkar and Rao. This time, it was Rao who took the ninth game with extremely accurate backhanded strokes.
Rao went on to win the final game and the second set to take the match into the third set. Building on the momentum which she carried from the last set, Rao bagged an early two-game lead in the final set. Taking full advantage of a lackadaisical Adkar, the 16-year-old looked quicker and sharper in the third set.
In the third game, Adkar, yet again, played her signature slice and managed to catch her opponent completely off-guard.
Rao was absolutely menacing with her backhands which helped her get into a comfortable 4-1 lead. Just when it looked like Rao would win the next two games and take the match, she fluffed her lines and committed too many errors.
Adkar, on the other hand, did not lack composure. Playing her favoured forehand, she tried to move her opponent on the court and successfully tired her out.
Astoundingly, Adkar came from 1-4 down to lead 5-4. She was on the brink of winning the following game, when Rao placed her forehand shots well and nabbed the 10th game of the final set.
With both players fatigued and panting, the game went into a tie breaker as the score was 6-6 after the twelfth game.
Spectators were on the edge of their seats when the tie-breaker was deadlocked at 9-9.
Rao failed to keep her cool over-hit the final shot of the game to confirm Adkar’s progress into the last-four of the tournament.
After the match
“I was confident in the first set. She recovered well in the second set. The third set was the game changer. I was 4-1 down and came from that to lead and then take the game into the tie-breaker. It was very difficult game and that is why winning it gives me more happiness than usual,” said Vaishnavi Adkar, semi-finalist, Pune.
Results
Quarter-finals: Boys - Singles
1-Patorn Hanchaikul (Thailand) bt Udit Gogoi (India) 6-1, 6-2
Vitek Horak (Czech Republic) bt Jack Loutit (New Zealand) 6-3, 6-1
2-Dev Javia (India) bt Arnav Pathange (India) 6-0, 7-6(5)
3-Rostislav Galfinger (Kazakhstan) bt Aryaan Bhatia (India) 7-6(4), 3-6, 6-4
Girls - Singles:
1-Maria Sholokhova (Russia) bt 7-Zijun Jiang (China) 6-3, 6-1
Vaishnavi Adkar (India) bt Sandeepti Singh Rao (India) 6-4, 4-6, 7-6 (11-9)
8-Mei Hasegawa (Japan) bt 3-Lanlana Tararudee (Thailand) 2-6, 7-5, 6-4
Tianmi Mi (China) bt Tomoko Kato (Japan) 6-3, 6-3
Semi-finals: Boys - Doubles
1-Rostislav Galfinger (Kazakhstan) & Dev Javia (India) bt Chirag Duhan/Denim Yadav(Ind) 7-5, 4-6, 10-5
3-Aryaan Bhatia & Uddayvir Singh (India) bt 2-Nishant Dabas (India) & Patorn Hanchaikul (Thailand) 6-4, 6-3
Girls - Doubles
1-Yu-Yun Li (Taiwan) & Vipasha Mehra (India) bt 3-Mei Hasegawa & Tomoko Kato (Japan) 7-6(2), 6-4
2-Kirara Morioka (Japan) & Maria Sholokhova (Russia) bt SkiaKung & Chao-YiWANG (Taiwan) 6-3, 6-3
