Sometimes all it takes is opportunities. Ask Shrivalli Rashmikaa Bhamidipaty, the 21 year old Hyderabadi, who defeated 24 year old Zeel Desai from Ahmedabad 6-0 4-6 6-3 in the ITF W25 tournament held here in Bangalore on Sunday. Both the players produced some high quality tennis in a match that swung wildly. The match started off with Shrivalli starting off in a thumping fashion, with her forehands especially being punishing at any sight of a short ball. At times, it would not be an exaggeration to say that Shrivalli’s forehands were reminiscent of another player from Hyderabad, a certain Sania Mirza.
Shrivalli converted 3/3 of her breakpoint opportunities. While Zeel was playing some good tennis herself, it seemed like her serve was letting her down when she needed them the most. Though the scoreline read 6-0 in Shrivalli’s favour after the first set, the set was a lot closer than the scoreline indicated,.and that was demonstrated early on in the second set by Zeel, who got an early break to lead 2-0. Zeel showcased some tremendous backhand strokes in the second set. At 4-3, deuce in the 2nd set, Zeel produced a delectable drop shot at a crucial juncture to maintain momentum. Zeel went on to win the 2nd set 6-4. A comeback was on the cards for Zeel, it appeared, who had come back from 2-5 in the 3rd set in the semi final against Rutuja Bhosale.
The crucial third set started off with Shrivalli holding her serve. And 1-0, 15-15, at Zeel’s serve, a strong breeze caused a disruption in play. With play being halted for a couple of minutes, Zeel lost the momentum she had in her favour, and served 2 back to back faults to give Shrivalli a break of serve. Shrivalli’s serves were working for her exceptionally well, and she was holding her serves with ease, not giving away a single breakpoint opportunity in the 3rd set. In the end, Shrivalli quite fittingly ended the match with a service winner to seal the match 6-0 4-6 6-3 and earn 50 WTA points for her efforts. Zeel, who played some scintillating tennis herself, walked away with 30 points.
It was a match that was worthy of a final, and a match that saw a near capacity crowd witnessing two future stars of Indian tennis. At the end of the match, thanks to the accessibility the venue provided to the players, almost every single person in the crowd wanted a photo taken with the two finalists. Zeel and Shrivalli were getting the superstar treatment that we don’t often see with Indian players, but something they truly deserve. Sometimes, all it takes is opportunities.