Pranjala, Sowjanya in title tilt

Sowjanya, Rutuja win the doubles title in a one-sided final

NT Correspondent

Bengaluru: Pranjala Yadlapalli defeated Shrivalli Rashmikaa Bhamidipathy with a 3-6, 6-3, 7-5 victory over Shrivalli Rashmikaa Bhamidipathy who until the fifth game of the Singles semifinal at the US$ 15K KSLTA ITF World Women’s Tour Championships at the KSLTA Stadium.

In the title clash slated for Sunday, the 22-year-old Hyderabadi will meet Bengaluru’s Sowjanya Bhavisetti who rallied brilliantly from a set down to overcome her doubles partner and the top seed Rutuja Bhosale 4-6, 6-4, 6-2 in a little over a two-hour battle.

Later, Sowjanya and Rutuja, playing their third match of the day, combined together to win the doubles title in a one-sided final beating the pair of Vaidehi Chaudhari and Mihika Yadav 6-0, 6-3. Earlier, they had overcome the duo of Sai Samhitha Chamarthi and Soha Sadiq in yesterday’s unfinished semifinal tie 7-5, 6-1.

The singles semifinal between Pranjala and Rashmikaa ended in a dramatic fashion. After losing the first set, Pranjala made a brilliant comeback to win the second. In the decider, as the scales were pitted against her, she was down in the final set, not only scorewise but physically as well as she developed cramps and had to take a medical break. Barely able to move, she just kept the ball in play which paid rich dividends, thanks to the unforced errors committed by her rival. “I don’t know how I did it. I just wanted to win. I didn’t even realise what the score was. All I wanted to do was to keep the ball in play as I knew she was not a great mover,” said Pranjala who won three games on a trot to restore parity at 4. With a break in the 11th game she went 6-5 up and then served out for the match. “At one point, I could not feel my legs. But I am so happy that I made it,” said a visibly tired Pranjala.

Earlier, Sowjanya set the tone of the match by firing an ace even as both the players adopted an aggressive approach, aware of each other’s strengths and weaknesses. “I was nervous initially as she knows my game,” admitted the 27-year-old. The games went with the serves until Rutuja achieved a crucial break in the seventh game and held her serve in the next to go 5-3 before wrapping up the set at 6-4. A toilet break for Sowjanya and a medical break for her opponent saw a change in fortunes for the Hyderbadi as she raced to a 3-0 lead. “I relaxed a bit which was a mistake,” said Sowjanya as Rutuja won the next three games to restore parity. However, serving to stay in the set at 4-5, she doublefaulted to lose the second set.

A similar story unfolded in the decider with Sowjanya racing to a 3-0 lead with Rutuja once again showing signs of a comeback winning two games in a row. However only this time, Sowjanya kept her cool and played some superb cross-court winners and also aided by the follies of her opponent to win the next three games and the match.