Intro Vaidehi Chaudhari took an hour and 39 minutes to beat Soha Sadiq 6-2, 6-1
The finals of $3000 FinIQ–ATT Asian Ranking Women’s tennis championship turned out to be a one-sided affair as wild card Vaidehi Chaudhari of Ahmedabad easily defeated Soha Sadiq from Bengaluru 6-2, 6-1 at Metrocity Sports Club, Kothrud on Sunday.
The Ahmedabad based player required only an hour and 39 minutes to overcome Bengaluru player Sadiq.
“I was confident after defeating quality players like Sai Samhitha Chamarthi in the semi-final and Nidhi Chilumula in the quarter-final. Both are good players, beating them helped me gain confidence and I played the final match with ease,” said Chaudhari who was awarded the wild card for the tourney.
Sadiq started well by holding her serve in the first game, but her inability to keep the ball inside the courts allowed Chaudhari to break her in the third and fifth game and wrap up the first set 6-1.
“My injury was troublesome and I kept making errors so things become tougher. She (Chaudhari) has a very good backhand and she used it nicely today as well,” said Sadiq who had developed a swelling on the left-hand forearm during the match.
In the second set, Chaudhari was unstoppable as her furious backhand winners kept Sadiq at bay.
{{/usCountry}}In the second set, Chaudhari was unstoppable as her furious backhand winners kept Sadiq at bay.
{{/usCountry}}Chaudhari took a 4-0 lead by breaking Sadiq’s serve in the first and third game.
Sadiq managed to hold her serve in the fifth game, but in the next two games, Chaudhari did not make any errors and wrapped up the match with a 6-1 scoreline.
“I need to practice more on keeping balls inside the court and remain consistent, that is the only thing I need to focus on at present,” added Sadiq.
Chaudhari said, “It was a very good week for me as I played some quality tennis. I was placing my shots nicely and both backhand and forehand shots were coming good. Defeating higher seeded players always gives you confidence and same happened with me.”
Chaudhari trains at Altevol tennis academy in Ahmedabad under coach Jignesh Rawal.
The winner Chaudhari got Rs 31,500 and 40 points, while the runner up Soha Sadiq received Rs 21,000 and 25 points.
Focus is on improving fitness and flexibility for women’s tournament: Chaudhari
Chaudhari, who turned 19 in February, is now all focused on women’s tournaments.
“Fitness and flexibility are two things which I will keep improving. Women’s tournaments are getting tougher. Higher quality of fitness gives you the ability to play your shots freely,” added Chaudhari.
Tough road ahead
With the change in ITF rules and no points to $15000 tournaments, Chaudhari is training herself for bigger challenges.
“We have no options so we need to take part in big tournaments to earn points. The road is much tougher now as compared to earlier,” said Chaudhari.
Vaidehi Chaudhari
The victory in the semi-final over top-seeded Sai Samhitha Chamarthi boosted my confidence. I just continued the momentum in the final.
Soha Sadiq
Staying consistent in the complete match is something which I need to focus here onwards.