Sheetal bags maiden title

By Kamesh Srinivasan

NEW DELHI, MARCH 9. Sheetal Goutham clinched her maiden title with admirable ease as she beat Nina Wennerstrom of Sweden 6-1, 6-2 in 52 minutes in the final of the 5000 dollar ITF women's circuit masters tennis tournament at the DLTA Complex here on Friday.

The 19-year-old Bangalore girl who trains with coach B. M. Ramesh at the KSLTA was denied a double, as Yamini Thukkaiandi smashed a few spectacular winners in partnership with Arthi Venkataraman to clinch the doubles title.

The doubles defeat in partnership with Liza Pereiera, who was below par this day, did not matter much for Sheetal who had an emotional drain on conquering the singles crown.

For one who had not crossed the first round of the masters in three previous attempts, it was a huge morale-booster for the crafty Sheetal. Moreover, the fact that the 880th ranked Sheetal collected five WTA points for clinching the title, was a gigantic effort, as she had only six points in her kitty earlier. In such a scenario, the winner's cheque of 800 dollars was a welcome bonus.

The short but smooth-stroking Sheetal got off to a flying start as she broke the 21-year-old Nina in the second game. The Swede complicated matters by serving three double faults in the fourth game in getting broken in the fourth game, after Sheetal had saved two breakpoints herself in the previous game.

Sheetal did not loosen the grip, as she took the first set in 23 minutes. She broke Nina in the fifth and seventh games, the second time with a brilliant backhand passing shot down the line, to take a 5-2 lead in the second set. She saved a breakpoint each in the second and eighth games, and served out the match in 52 minutes.

``I expected a tough fight, as I had lost to her 5-7 in the third set in the quarterfinals of the Bangalore leg. I had made up my mind to come to the net this time instead of rallying from the backcourt'', said Sheetal, who complemented her understanding of the game with seven volley winners.

Sheetal had three passing shots, and five other winners, but the most notable aspect in her game was she did not make many unforced errors. In fact, she made only seven errors in the first set, and 13 in the second. Her serve was steady, and she committed only one double fault.

In contrast, the tall Nina was erratic, and had 34 errors and eight doublefaults that sealed her fate this day. She lacked the experience to tackle an intelligent and consistent player like Sheetal, and thus she was not able to capitalise on 13 winners, of which four were volleys.

It was a huge relief for Sheetal to at last come good in the senior ranks, after an impressive stint as one of the best juniors in the country. She pointed that the win against Radhika Tulpule in the quarterfinals provided the turning point for her in this tournament.

``This title gives me a lot of confidence'', said the B. Com student of Shri Bhagwan Mahavir Jain College, who has not crossed the quarterfinals in the 10,000 dollar tournaments.

The runner-up prize of 500 dollars and four WTA points was in itself a bonus for Nina, as she was playing only her third tournament in the women's circuit.

The doubles title was worth 350 dollars and five WTA points for Yamini and Arthi, while Sheetal and Liza had to be content with a purse of 200 dollars and four WTA points.

The secretary of the All India Tennis Association, Mr. Anil Khanna gave away the prizes.

The results (finals) : Sheetal Goutham bt Nina Wennerstrom (Swe) 6-1, 6-2; Doubles : Yamini Thukkaiandi and Arthi Venkataraman bt Sheetal Goutham and Liza Pereira 6-2, 6-4.

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