Friday, May 31, 2002
Friday, May 31, 2002 |
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Tennis
By Kamesh Srinivasan
``Why is she going back so far behind the baseline. Why can't she step in and hit the ball,'' asked Dr. Chander Kumar, bemused at the sight of the better-equipped Sonal Phadke dancing to the tune of Sheethal Goutham in the semifinals of the $5,000 ITF women's tennis circuit tournament at the CLTA Complex. Dr. Chander's daughter, Ankita Bhambri, who had finished the other semifinal in a hurry, smashing her way to a 6-1, 6-2 triumph over Archana Venkataraman, when she reeled off eight games in a row after being broken in the first game, had no answer to her dad's queries. But then, it is the same case with most of the girls on the Indian tennis circuit. They have no clue as to how to handle the accurate play of Sheethal who has an uncanny ability to retrieve. She also has the game to hit winners when she finds the openings. More importantly, the longer the match, the better she plays. It was no wonder that Sheethal prevailed 4-6, 6-4, 7-5 in two and a half hours against top-seeded Sonal, as the latter wilted under pressure in the climax, literally thrown off court by the teasing loops. At 4-4 in the decider, Sonal saved a breakpoint to hold serve, but at 5-5 she put a volley long to stare at defeat. Sheethal served well to set up two matchpoints and brought the curtains down as she forced Sonal to hit a backhand long. Playing a monotonous game from the backcourt, trying to see whether she could be more accurate than Sheethal was a poor game plan for Sonal, but she could not find an alternative this day despite hitting some nice winners and sharp volleys. It will be a repeat final of the Masters event, played in Pune last month. Ankita had shown her prowess then, winning the match in straight sets against Sheethal. It should not be a surprise if she produces another positive result, that may perhaps partially answer the queries of her tennis-loving dad. For, Ankita plays a game that should help Indian women's tennis take a positive step towards progress. Emboldened with a new serve, that has helped her deliver at least half a dozen aces in a match, Ankita is ready to show that playing Sheethal, who has two Masters titles under her belt, should not be so much of a puzzle. The results (semifinals): Singles: Sheethal Goutham bt Sonal Phadke 4-6, 6-4, 7-5; Ankita Bhambri bt Archana Venkataraman 6-1, 6-2. Doubles: Liza Pereira/Radhika Tulpule bt Radhika Mandke/Samrita Sekar 7-5, 6-1; Shruti Dhawan/Sheethal Goutham bt Ankita Bhambri/Sonal Phadke 6-3, 2-6, 6-2.
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