The Hindu : Shuai Peng upstages Sunitha

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Sunday, Feb 24, 2002

Sport

Sport - Tennis

Shuai Peng upstages Sunitha
By Nandakumar Marar

MUMBAI, FEB. 23. China's unseeded Shuai Peng upstaged eight seeded American Indian Sunitha Rao 6-3, 7-6 (3) in the singles final of the $10,000 International Tennis Federation's Women's Futures on Saturday. This was the second clash between the two 16-year-olds, the first in the senior ranks, after a clash in Louisiana two years ago in a junior event which ended the same way.

Peng moves to New Delhi for another ITF Futures, richer by Rs. 74,880 and with five additional WTA points to her tally. Overcome with joy in the aftermath of her victory and not knowing English she seemed lost for words. But on court her tennis eloquence came through loud and clear. Coached by former Asian Games men's champion Pang Bing, urging on his ward from the stands in bursts of Chinese, she proved to be a big match player, much more mobile than ever before in the tournament and very effective with double-handed backhands.

Sunitha had to make do with Rs. 46,800 and four WTA points after being unable to break her rival's resolve even after playing, in phases, the most entertaining tennis so far. Clearly her best was not good enough in the final, played in front of a sizeable crowd at the Dr. G.A. Ranade Tennis Centre, fans filling up the stand fascinated by the prospect of watching an American Indian in action. She played her heart out, but the pressure of playing a final got to her.

The Florida-born player stepped onto the court carrying a reputation built over a week of solid tennis, dwarfing higher ranked rivals with sheer aggression. Sunitha began on the same confident note in Saturday's final, but by the time the first set ended, it was clear that Peng called the shots. Goaded on by coach and father Manohar Rao, the eighth seed fought back all the way in the second set, digging deep into her mental reserves to come up with inspired strokeplay but could only delay the inevitable to one hour, 25 minutes.

The final seemed destined for the decider after Sunitha, down 3-6 in the first set, roared back to level scores at 4-4 and 6-6 in the second set, breaking Peng on both occasions, but the unseeded Chinese, beginning to sense victory by then, tightened up her game in the tie-breaker and reaped just rewards. The American-Indian, playing with the sort of sustained aggression not seen in Indian girls, sent the crowd into raptures with strokes of pure skill besides an effective serve, but her effort came unstuck against a lesser talented, though more focussed opponent.

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