Eighth seed Akanksha exits but other Indian seeded players progress in Tumakuru Open

Akanksha was outplayed by Arina Arifullina in a one-sided 6-1, 6-1 Round of 32 match.

Tumakuru: The exit of eighth seed Akanksha Dileep Nitture in the women’s singles was the lone jarring note in an otherwise impressive second day outing for Indian players in the ITF W15 Tumakuru Open here on Wednesday.

Akanksha was outplayed by Arina Arifullina in a one-sided 6-1, 6-1 Round of 32 match.

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Akanksha, coming into the tournament with solid credentials, struggled to find her rhythm against an aggressive and consistent Arifullina.

The Indian failed to hold serve consistently and was put under relentless pressure from the baseline, resulting in one of the tournament’s first major upsets.

In an all-Indian clash, Laxmisiri Dandu staged a remarkable comeback to overcome Prathyusha Rachapudi 1-6, 7-5, 6-3.

Kashish Bhatia was in ruthless form as she brushed aside wild card Amodini Naik 6-1, 6-1.

Jennifer Luikham also impressed, battling past Chevika Reddy Sama 6-3, 4-6, 6-3 in a hard-fought three-set encounter.

Among the seeded Indians, third seed Vaidehee Chaudhari lived up to expectations with a composed 6-3, 6-4 win over Soha Sadiq, while fourth seed Zeel Desai delivered the most dominant performance of the day, steam-rolling Jeetesh Kumari 6-0, 6-0.

Top seed Justina Mikulskyte of Lithuania and second seed Zuzanna Pawlikowska of Poland had comfortable outings, cruising past their respective Indian opponents in straight sets.

Sixth seed Ekaterina Yashina also progressed with ease, defeating Bela Tamhankar 6-2, 6-2, while Poland’s Zuzanna Kolonus advanced with a convincing win.

In the women’s doubles Round of 16, Indian pairs enjoyed a productive day.

The duo of Soha Sadiq and Madhurima Sawant registered a 6-3, 6-2 win over Pooja Ingale and Prathyusha Rachapudi.

Sreemanya Reddy Anugonda and Sahira Singh showed great fighting spirit to come back from a set down and win 3-6, 6-3, 10-6 against Laxmisiri Dandu and Chevika Reddy Sama.

Third seeds Akanksha and Japan’s Michika Ozeki, however, ensured there was no double disappointment for the former as they advanced with a gritty 6-3, 4-6, 10-6 win over Kashish Bhatia and Sonal Patil in a closely contested match.