Mysuru, Oct 13: In a finale that could have gone either way, American second seed Jessie Aney came up with the big points when it mattered and held her nerve under pressure to complete a splendid double at the $15,000 ITF Mysore Open here on Sunday.
In front of a packed crowd at the Mysore Tennis Club courts, Aney scored a come-from-behind 3-6, 6-3, 7-6 (8-6) win over the top-seeded Shrivalli Rashmikaa Bhamidipaty in a match that lasted two hours and 33 minutes.
“It was really a tough one, but I’m happy that I played solid in the tie-break to come through,” said a relieved Aney, who had annexed the doubles title with Indian partner Riya Bhatia on Saturday.
It was a match of small margins. Shrivalli made capital of Aney’s weak second serves in the first set after both had traded breaks twice each initially, and got the decisive break in the eighth game.
However, Aney came back after a 20-minute rain interruption with a different strategy. She slowed down the pace of the game and didn’t give the Indian, who likes to go for broke with her heavy hitting, the room to play her shots.
Aney, known more for her success in doubles, began to draw her rival closer to the net and came up with passing shots and volley winners to dictate the course of the match. The American, who saved two break points in the third game, broke Shrivalli in the fourth and held serve in the ninth game after another rain interruption to push the issue to the decider.
The final set was similar to the opening set. Aney broke Shrivalli, who made two errors at crucial junctures in the seventh game. A sliced backhand return sailed long to give Aney the advantage and the Indian followed that up with a forehand error.
But Shrivalli bounced right back with great service returns to force Aney into errors. She earned a breakpoint with a big forehand winner and Aney then netted an overhead smash much to the crowd’s delight.
Shrivalli had a match point in the 12th game, but a few errors allowed Aney to hold serve to take the match into the tie-break. Shrivalli struggled in the beginning and allowed the American to jump to a 6-2 lead. However, the Indian saved the four match points to level at 6-6, but two errors saw the American seal the match and take home a cheque for $2,352.
Result (Final): 2-Jessie Aney (USA) bt 1-Shrivalli Rashmikaa Bhamidipaty (Ind) 3-6, 6-3, 7-6(6)
Champion Jessie Aney with the trophy