Tennis: Zeel Desai and Shivani/Yadlapalli earn clean sweep for India at ITF W15 Gurugram tournament
Desai defeats compatriot Shruti Ahlawat in stunning ITF final
While much of the attention of the tennis world is currently focused on the ATP Japan Open and WTA 1000 in Beijing, India’s tennis players gave their local fans a reason to cheer at the ITF W15 Gurugram tournament last weekend.
The standout performer at the tournament was Zeel Desai, who mustered a stunning comeback from a set down to overcome compatriot Shruti Ahlawat 2-6, 6-1, 6-4 in an absorbing final in the women’s singles event in Gurugram on Sunday.
Desai, the number one seed, kicked off her title run with a three-set victory over Sahira Singh in the first round before a nail-biting round of 16 matchup against Anna Sedysheva of Russia that required a final-set tiebreaker to decide.
The 26-year-old then hit her stride and racked up straight set victories over 17-year-old starlet Eva Marie Desvignes and Akanksha Dileep Nitture in the quarter and semi-finals, respectively, before clinching her first title of the year, beating Ahlawat in the grand final. Speaking after the win, Desai said:
“It feels amazing to win after coming from behind. This is my second final of the year. I was runner-up in Monastir, Tunisia, in April but had to retire. Winning here is very special.”
Desai has also got off to an impressive start to the W15 Gurugram 2 tournament this week, where she has yet to drop a set, having beaten Sohini Sanjay Mohanty 6-3, 6-0 in the first round and Sonal Patil 6-1, 6-3 in round two.
Shivani/Yadlapalli complete clean sweep for India
Over in the women’s doubles event of the competition, Sravya Shivani and Pranjal Yadlapalli produced one of their best performances in recent memory to see off Mahika Khanna and Sohini Mohany in the final to lift the trophy.
Shivani/ Yadlapalli were pushed hard by the duo of Anna Sedysheva and Suslova Sofia in the semi-final but managed to hold their nerve in a marathon tie-breaker that ended 10-8 in favour of the Indian pair.
India’s captain of the Billie Jean Cup team, Vishal Uppal, who was in attendance at the tournament in Gurugram last week, expressed his happiness with the local athletes’ performances and optimism for the future, saying:
"The performance of the Indian players truly makes all the hard work in hosting such tournaments worth it. The field was strong with high quality players from USA, Russia, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Singapore and New Calcedonia. Women’s tennis in India again showing growth. The results speaking for themselves."
Like Desai, Shivani and Yadlapalli have also made winning starts to their W15 Gurugram 2 tournaments and will face the team of Akanksha Dileep Nitture and Soha Sadiq in the semi-final on Friday morning (IST).
