ITF W40 Bhopal, Pune Jan 16-29, 2023

[arjun2761]

What happened to Sahaja? She is in a real slump for months now. With the tools she has, she needs to start winning again, but it is taking too long.

Watched a few games towards the end of the first set, and she was making a lot of UFEs mostly by hitting into the net. The Japanese player was basically just keeping the ball in play. However, even though Sahaja was dictating the points until making the UFE, it did seem that the Japanese player didn't have much difficulty in getting the ball back. She will likely need to improve her game significantly to make a leap forward from this level given that the Japanese player is ranked below her.

[Dinesh]

[R1] Ankita Raina (IND,258) 4-6 7-6 6-4 Ekaterina Maklakova (RUS,475)

These close first round encounters are scary but glad Ankita held her nerves. Was serving for the match at 5-3 only to give the break back but eventually broke the Russian in the last game of the match. #250 in the live rankings with this win. Tough R2 encounter awaits against the probable 2nd seeded Swiss player Joanne Zuger (or another Russian, Ekaterina Yashina).

Edit: Zuger won 6-4 6-2

Karman up next!!!

[Omkara]

Karman won first 6-3

[sameerph]

Karman won in straight sets.

[R1] Karman Kaur Thandi (IND,270) d. Daria Kudashova (RUS,415) 63 63

So, 3 of the 4 who were expected to make the second round made it ( barring Sahaja). Now matches of Zeel, Vaidehi, Sravya and Sharmada still to come today. Will we get 1 upset out of this ?

[jayakris]

^^^ Nope, the three wildcards and the lucky loser did not win even a set. Tough event. Only three in the second round.

[sameerph]

Yes, all straight set losses. So, only 3 remain in last 16 and all of them meet seeds in second round.

[R2] Karman Kaur Thandi (IND,270) vs. (5) Anastasia Tikhonova (RUS,227)

[R2] Ankita Raina (IND,258) vs. (2) Joanne Zuger (SUI,195)

[R2] Rutuja Bhosale (IND,426) vs. (6) Ektaraina Makarova (RUS,230)

Going by the current trend, I will be happy even if we get 1 win out of 3.

[jayakris]

My hunch is that we will get one upset win.... Praying for that.

[Dinesh]

Ankita just turned 30, and while she still is our #1 singles player, I am going to lower my expectations from her in singles going forward. I hope she makes the transition to being a full-time doubles player this year or next.

Karman should lead the way for us from here on. She has the talent and age on her side.

[Dinesh]

My hunch is that we will get one upset win.... Praying for that.

I am not sure that we will get even one. Karman is our best bet but she’s playing someone who just reached the final round at the AO qualifying. At best, I expect a 3-set match between them. Fingers crossed!

[prasen9]

Going by ranking difference, Karman has the best matchup, though admittedly hard.

[arjun2761]

KKT is our best bet but you can never count out Ankita!

[prasen9]

I am not counting out anyone.

[sameerph]

All 3 lost.

[R2] Karman Kaur Thandi (IND,270) l. (5) Anastasia Tikhonova (RUS,227) 63 16 26

[R2] Ankita Raina (IND,258) l. (2) Joanne Zuger (SUI,195) 46 36

[R2] Rutuja Bhosale (IND,426) l. (6) Ektaraina Makarova (RUS,230) 61 46 16

Both Karman and Rutuja got beaten after taking the first set. Looks like fitness issue with them.

[arjun2761]

Well, they were all underdogs in these matches. However, you do expect some upsets in home country conditions, so disappointing performance overall.

Lately, I am noticing our home country advantage isn't as large as it used to be (see even the junior tennis and badminton threads). I wonder if the Indian infrastructure and hotels have actually improved enough that visitors aren't as uncomfortable as they used to be.

[prasen9]

Both Karman and Rutuja got beaten after taking the first set. Looks like fitness issue with them.

Sameer, may be. But, this is not necessarily true always. Good players, champions often figure out within a match what to do differently and overcome an opponent. So, they catch up, change and win games. Poorer players cannot make those changes. They often have - maybe irrational - belief that they cannot lose because they are better and the poorer players the opposite. So they will out wins. But, yes, sometimes it is fitness too.