Arianne Hartono and Prarthana Thombare are the ITF W75 Porto Open Doubles Champions. The results from the past week are below:
QF Arianne Hortono (NED)/ Prarthana Thombare (IND) d. Maja Chwalinska (POL)/ Gabriela Knutson (CZE), Walkover
SF Arianne Hortono (NED)/ Prarthana Thombare (IND) d. (4) Evialina Laskevich (RUS)/ Ekaterina Yashina (RUS), 67(6) 61 [10-5]
F Arianne Hortono (NED)/ Prarthana Thombare (IND) d. (3) Anna Rogers (USA)/ Kateryna Volodko (UKR), 63 64
The champion duo caught up with RacquetC and here is a small transcript from the interview.
Interview credits to RacquetC
Q: You are 2/2 on break points and opponents were 0/12 on break points.
Doubles in general has very slim margin and it can change very quickly. So it’s very important to focus every single point. There were times when we held our surf being 15-40 down twice.
So you’ve got to focus really hard and stick to your plan and it can change again.
I think also today especially we started off with a very high percentage of first serves. There weren’t many holes into our game. It was very difficult for them to figure out where our weaknesses were.
So we were starting out very strong and I think that really helped us gain more confidence and more momentum throughout the match.
Q: You faced the legend, an Australian Open champion in 2008. Voodoo. Did you know that? She is a former top-10 doubles player as well.
Oh wow, didn’t know that. That’s a good thing to find out afterwards.
Q: How it was for you to face a player like that?
I think everyone’s really difficult now. I mean, hats off to her, she’s traveling everywhere with the family. Traveling even with one person is already difficult. Making a comeback after two kids is beyond amazing. None of us can imagine that. For her to be able to actually be doing that, that is really a huge achievement.
We know that she is such a strong player, regardless of what she has achieved in the past.
Q: To Arianna – How does it mean for you to win the title and by her side?
I think it’s the second one this year. It only makes it sweeter winning it with her. She had great support outside. Inside and outside of the court is also a very good friend of mine. So I think having her on my side and to win this title is very good.
We’ve not played a lot of tournaments this year. We’ve only played six tournaments and we’ve done quite well in most of the tournaments. So I’m actually really looking forward to play as much as I can. We are playing together in Figuera as well, but as much as I can this year.
Hopefully if I’m still fit then in the coming years as well.
Q: Prarthana – You seem pretty fit as well
Prarthana Thombare: We try to have as much fun on the court as out of the court. So as long as we are enjoying it, our best tennis will come out.
Q: I saw her supporting you in singles as well, so it must be nice to win by her side.
Like she said, we don’t just work well on the court, but we are very good friends off the court.
You have more titles than her, but I think it’s the first one in Portugal.
Yeah, it’s my first one in Portugal. Last time I was here I played the indoors. The coach that is coaching her now actually thrashed me in the finals. She was also on my side this week, so it was easier to join the winning team.
What do you think about Portugal and of course the city?
I think we are both big fans of Portugal. We love going out. My mother was also with me and I had good enough time to go visit the city as well. So we are really big fans of Portugal and we are looking on the calendar.
If there are any tournaments here, that’s where we are going. We don’t even have to discuss it. And also to the people, they make it almost like home. They are very welcoming, they have good energy, which is great. They also come out in a bunch to watch matches, so thank you for everything.
Photos from the tourney
