ITF circus shifts to Delhi

By Kamesh Srinivasan

NEW DELHI, SEPT. 9. The equations may vary with the change of surface from clay to synthetic, but a strong field offers a lively fare in the India Tennis Centre $ 10,000 ITF women's circuit tennis tournament beginning at the DLTA Complex here on Monday.

It may be a tough exercise to focus on tennis, amidst all the construction activities around, as the complex shapes up for the Afro-Asian Games, but players who are keen to rebuild their reputation have no choice.

Radhika Tulpule, the 19-year-old Pune girl, after winning the last two events at home, including the one last week in Chennai, will be the one to look out for.

``The courts are fast here, but I will try my best. I have been training well, and that is what has helped me,'' said Radhika, who trains with Davis Cup coach Nandan Bal in Pune.

Sai Jayalakshmy, the top seed finds Radhika in her quarter, and would be keen to get some matches after her first round elimination to the eventual finalist Ipek Senoglu of Turkey last week. The 22-year-old Ipek is likely to run into Radhika in the second round.

Sai had won the title in Gwalior last October, and would be looking forward to strengthen her status as one of the top players in the Indian women's circuit. She, however, has been having a good time, winning the doubles in the company of Rushmi Chakravarthi.

The second-seeded Rushmi is likely to make the best use of a favourable draw and may actually go all the way, as she has a good record on these courts. She won the title in Chandigarh in the first women's tournament this season, in a field that was a lot stronger than the one assembled here.

The third-seeded Shruti Dhawan and the fourth-seeded Sonal Phadke have a lot of home work to do. Both have to be cautious against their first round opponents. Shruti meets Pichaya Laosirichon of Thailand, and Sonal will be up against wild card entrant Olexandra Verkhnyatska of Ukraine.

Another wild card entrant, the 14-year-old Sania Mirza is the surprise packet, and may cause more than a flutter, if she gets to a good start against the talented Radhika Mandke, who beat Shruti in Chennai.

Having played in the Wimbledon and the US Open, albeit not making much headway, Sania will be fearless in countering the grown-ups.

Qualifier Nischela Reddy who caused a stir by making the quarterfinal in Chennai, won two rounds in the qualifying event here without dropping a game, and will meet Vishika Chhetri in the first round. Ankita Bhambri has been playing well, and will be a tough nut to crack for Liza Pereira in the first round.

Megha Vakharia and Nandita Chandrasekar are the notable absentees.

The warm weather, a surprise at this time of the season, may have an impact on the outcome of some matches, but there is no doubt that the Indian women have become a lot stronger with the tournaments, though they do not have enough of them at home.

Most of the players have been visiting different countries in their bid to climb higher in the WTA ladder, but there is no doubt that they have to make the maximum of the chances available at home.

To that extent, the Indian girls have proved their worth time and again. Can they do it once again, when there are only four foreigners - two of them do not have a ranking and the other two are closer to 1000 - in the field is the latest question.

The results: Qualifying event (second and final round): S. K. Tara bt Kalpita Raje 6-0, 6-1; Alice Joy bt Sricharanya Thiagarajan 6-4, 7-6 (7-0); Radhika Mandke bt Kamini Murugabopathy 7-5, 6-3; Pragya Yadav Summer Bhullar 6-4, 6-2; Nischela Reddy bt Ruchi Durlabhji 6-0, 6-0; Rebecca Dandeniya (GBR) bt Lata Assudani 6-0, 6-1.

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