Sonal Patil and Soha Sadiq enter second round of W35 Nagpur

Indian tennis talents Sonal Patil and Soha Sadiq showcased commendable performances to secure their spots in the second round of singles at the W35 Maha Urja Nagpur Open ITF Women’s Championships. The tournament is being organized by the Nagpur District Hard Court Tennis Association (NDHTA) and Maharashtra State Lawn Tennis Association (MSLTA) under the auspices of the ITF, AITA, and is being played on the clay courts of the MSLTA Tennis Academy Tennis Complex at Ramnagar.

Nineteen-year-old Sonal Patil, hailing from Kolhapur, made a significant statement in the WTA rankings with a resounding 6-0, 6-1 triumph over local wildcard Maithali Mothe.

In a contrasting yet resilient performance, qualifier Soha Sadiq demonstrated her mettle by battling past former national champion and Fed Cupper, Sowjanya Bavisetti, in a hard-fought encounter that ended with a scoreline of 6-2, 2-6, 6-2. Bavisetti, ranked 351 places above Sadiq, faced an unexpected defeat, underscoring the Indian qualifier’s determination and skill.

The doubles category also witnessed Indian success as the pair of Shrivalli Rashmikaa Bhamidipaty and Vaidehi Chaudhari advanced to the quarterfinals with a dominant 6-2, 6-1 victory over Sowjanya Bavisetti and Mei Hasegawa of Japan.

Second-seeded Dalila Jakupovic of Slovenia gave a tennis lesson to local wildcard Sejal Bhutada, out-hitting her 6-0, 6-0.

Two upsets were recorded, with Russian Daria Kudashova toppling the sixth seed Fanny Ostlund of Sweden 7-5, 7-6(6). Another Russian, Ekaterina Yashina, ousted the eighth seed Thasaporn Naklo of Thailand 7-5, 6-4 to move into the round of sixteen.

Results: Singles: Main Draw: First Round:

Sonal Patil (Ind) bt Maithili Mothe (Ind) 6-0, 6-1;
Daria Kudashova (Rus) bt Fanny Ostlund (Swe) [6] 7-5, 7-6(6);
Soha Sadiq (Ind) bt (WC) Sowjanya Bavisetti (Ind) 6-2, 2-6, 6-2;
Ekaterina Yashina (Rus) bt Thasaporn Naklo (Tha) [8] 7-5, 6-4;
Dalila Jakupovic (Slo) [2] BT Sejal Bhutada (Ind) 6-0, 6-0;
Rinon Okuwaki (Jpn) bt Humera Baharmus (Ind) 6-2, 6-3;
Miriana Tona (Ita) [7] bt Jacqueline Cabaj Awad (Swe) 6-2, 2-6, 6-3;
Akiko Omae (Jpn) bt Zeel Desai (Ind) 6-3, 6-2;

Doubles: First Round:

Yasmine Mansouri (Fra) / Diana Marcinkevica (Lat) [3] bt Sonal Patil (Ind) / Bela Tamhankar (Ind) 6-2, 6-1;
Daria Kudashova / Anastasia Zolotareva bt Akanksha Dileep Nitture (Ind) / Soha Sadiq (Ind) 6-4, 6-2;
Yeonwoo Ku (Kor) [4] / Justina Mikulskyte (Ltu) bt Vaishnavi Adkar (Ind) / Ishwari Matere (Ind) 6-2, 7-5;
Shrivalli Rashmikaa Bhamidipaty (Ind) / Vaidehi Chaudhari (Ind) bt Sowjanya Bavisetti (Ind) / Mei Hasegawa (Jpn) 6-2, 6-1.