India’s Shrivalli Bhamidipaty received the higher of compatriot Maaya Rajeshwaran in a first-round match of the WTA 250 Chennai Open tennis event on Wednesday.
| Photograph Credit score: B. JOTHI RAMALINGAM
If gamers largely stayed indoors on account of rain for the primary two days of the WTA 250 Chennai Open tennis event, the third day on the SDAT-Nungambakkam Stadium on Wednesday witnessed overseas gamers fall sufferer to the recent and humid circumstances as they bowed out of the event.
The unfavourable circumstances, nevertheless, didn’t deter India’s Shrivalli Bhamidipaty and Sahaja Yamalapalli from profitable their first-round singles matches.
Shrivalli eased previous 16-year-old Maaya Rajeshwaran 6-1, 6-4 whereas Sahaja, who turned 25, received higher because the match progressed as she scripted a 6-4, 6-2 victory over fortunate loser Priska Nugroho of Indonesia to enter the spherical of 16.
The much-anticipated contest between Shrivalli and Maaya fell flat because the latter couldn’t rise to the event, making quite a few unforced errors and being unable to plan a method to counter Shrivalli’s aggression.
It was a cakewalk for Shrivalli, the 23-year-old within the first set, after she took a useful 4-1 lead. Maaya confirmed a glimpse of her expertise when she broke Shrivalli’s serve within the fourth recreation—after being 0-2 down—with a sequence of forehand and backhand winners.
She once more broke Shrivalli’s serve at love within the eighth recreation to equalise 4-4. Within the subsequent recreation, she misplaced meekly with out a struggle and Shrivalli held serve quite comfortably to seal the match.
Sahaja, based mostly in USA, was simply the higher participant within the second set in opposition to Priska, a counterpuncher from Indonesia. The 25-year-old Indian was at her greatest within the fourth recreation when she broke Priska, with some splendid winners from the backcourt. That was the enhance she wanted and the Indian by no means regarded again since.
Barring Nina Stojanovic of Serbia, who pulled out on account of a hip damage, second seed Francesca Jones (Nice Britain, Maria Timofeeva (Uzbekistan) and Alina Charaeva (Russia) withdrew halfway within the match, citing “warmth sickness.”
The outcomes (first spherical): Zeynep Sonmez (Tur) bt Tatiana Prozorova (Rus) 7-5, 6-4; Linda Fruhvirtova (Cze) bt Astrid Lew Yan Foon (Fra) 6-2, 6-2; Shrivalli Bhamidipaty bt Maaya Rajeshwaran 6-1, 6-4; Donna Vekic (Cro) bt Vaishnavi Adkar 6-1, 6-2; Sahaja Yamalapalli bt Priska Nugroho (Ina) 6-4, 6-2; Kimberly Birrel (Aus) bt Nikola Bartunkova (Cze) 1-6, 6-1, 6-3; Mei Yamaguchi (Jpn) bt Francesca Jones (GBr) 5-7, 6-0, 1-0 (retd.); Janice Tjen (Ina) bt Caroline Werner (Ger) 6-4, 6-7 (5), 6-2.
Printed – October 29, 2025 11:51 pm IST
