The Hindu : It's Sheethal's day

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Sunday, Jun 09, 2002

Sport

Sport - Tennis

It's Sheethal's day

By Kamesh Srinivasan

MUZAFFAR NAGAR JUNE 8. To be in sync with the conditions, to be at peace with one's self. That is not just the art of survival but of being a champion as well.

Sheethal Goutham was at home on the grasscourts of the Services Club here, never striking a discordant note with her slow-motion soft-play, as she dismissed the challenge of Shruti Dhawan 6-2, 6-4 in the final of the $5000 ITF womens tennis tournament on Saturday.

It was the second title in a row for the 21-year-old Sheethal, who had beaten Ankita Bhambri in the final last week in Chandigarh, and also the fourth career title for the Bangalore girl in such a circuit, the other two being the Masters titles.

Later in the doubles final, the second-seeded pairing of Sheethal and Shruti Dhawan humbled the Venkataraman sisters 7-5, 6-0. It was an improvement for Sheethal and Shruti following their final loss to Radhika Tulpule and Liza Pereira last week.

The early morning dew, and the impatience of Shruti, who lacked the rhythm this day to make a meaningful challenge, suited Sheethal quite a bit, as she raced to the title in just over an hour.

Sheethal did go through anxious moments, in a tiring second set when the high level of humidity and heat got to the players, but she made light of two successive breaks of serve, in making it a straight-forward affair.

``I am happy with the title. The second match against Iciri gave me a lot of confidence. I knew that the ball was not going to bounce much. So, my idea was to keep the ball within the service line, and go to the net", said Sheethal, quite relieved about executing her game plan to a nicety.

Once she got off to a fluent start, taking a 5-1 lad with breaks in the fourth and sixth games, Sheethal had the match in control, even as the talented Shruti knotted herself in a flurry of errors and a fickle mind, that proved a big negative factor.

Shruti had missed two game points each in those two games, as she was plagued by a poor service rhythm. The double-faults kept shattering her aspirations and she surrendered the first set with one. In the second, Shruti started well with a break, but could not hold her serve in the second and fourth games.

She was brave in saving a breakpoint in holding serve in the sixth, and teased Sheethal a bit by breaking her in the seventh and ninth games, with a flurry of breathtaking winners. A final hurrah perhaps.

There was no fear of the match going into the decider, let alone Sheethal coming close to losing it, as Shruti was irritated by her own mistakes, which meant that she lacked the conviction to make a fight of it. It proved so, as Shruti lost serve in the tenth game on the first championship point, as she hit a forehand wide.

``I was pretty confident, said Sheethal, who collected Rs. 27,517, after tax deductions, for her effort in singles. Shruti got Rs. 19,050, a good improvement from the packet of Rs. 7,408 for her quarterfinal appearance last week.

The winning pair of Sheethal and Shruti collected Rs. 15,050 and the runners-up pocketed Rs. 8104.

The results (finals):

Singles: Sheethal Goutham bt Shruti Dhawan 6-2, 6-4.

Doubles: Sheethal Goutham & Shruti Dhawan bt Archana Venkataraman & Arthi Venkataraman 7-5, 6-0.

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It's Sheethal's day