PUNE: Vaidehi Chaudhari and Shrivalli Rashmikaa have ridden a wave for the past few weeks, and they stayed on the ridge on Tuesday taking staggering wins in the $ 25,000 ITF NECC Deccan women’s tennis event.
Ahmedabad-based professional Vaidehi tamed Australian Open 2020 runner-up Weronika Baszak from Poland 6: 2, 6: 4, while Rashmikaa defeated Rutuja Bhosale 0: 6, 6: 4, 6: 0 in the first round.
“I’m really happy. It’s the biggest win of my career so far,” said qualifier Rashmikaa, who will next meet Uzbekistani Nigina Abduraimova, with a smile.
The Hyderabadi are now 8: 1 after their semi-final run in Bengaluru two weeks ago.
The score is one of those weird things tennis can bring up.
“At the beginning she played very well. She’s a top player. I was just waiting for a chance but she didn’t give me one,” said Rashmikaa.
This opening came in the second set after Rutuja took a 3-1 lead.
“I just stayed constant and reduced my mistakes. She was very strong in the basic strokes and I thought that if I stayed a little longer in the rallies, she could make mistakes,” she said of the turnaround in the match.
When Rutuja got into self-doubt at one end, her opponent began to prevail with her big serve and the subsequent second blow.
“I was always like that as a kid,” said Rashmikaa of her 1-2 style of play.
“I’ve become more consistent now.”
For Vaidehi, the final loss to Rutuja in Solapur seems to be a slip-up.
While Rutuja looked different from Master, Vaidehi hardly let the disappointment affect her game.
The Altevol Sports Academy student, who trains under Jignesh Rawal, seems to be making up for lost time as she found shelter with Covid and Dengue in a short period of time this year.
But Vaidehi found a chance in misfortune.
“Covid and dengue made me weak. In order to regain strength in my legs, I concentrated very much on my footwork. That helped me in Bengaluru,” she said.
In other games, Karman Kaur Thandi, who played in relatively warm conditions after her long stay in Europe, overcame her own indifferent form and defeated Soha Sadiq 6-1, 6-2; Pranjala Yadlapalli, retired with a hamstring injury while trailing 2-6, 1-1 on Aleem Qamar.
Sowjanya Bavisetti went down in two hours and 42 minutes against the Russian Ekaterina Reynold with 6-4, 3-6, 2-6.