Chao shocks top seed Stephens
Dhiraj Shetty
Little-known Chinese, Hsiao-Han Chao scored a big upset, beating top seeded New Zealander Shelly Stephens 4-6, 6-2, 6-1 to enter the quarter-finals of the $10,000 ITF women's Futures tennis tournament in Mumbai.
On the Indian front only American-based Indians Manisha Malhotra and Sunitha Rao could make it to the last eight as three others, Sai Jayalakshmi, Gautam Sheetal and Rushmi Chakravarthi fell by the wayside.
Chakravarthi fought gamely against fifth seed Camila Kremer before going down 6-1, 6-7, 3-6 while fourth seed Dominika Luzarova of the Czech Republic was stretched a bit in the second
set before beating Jayalakshmi 6-1, 7-5.
Shuai Peng of China also met with stiff resistance from Sheetal before prevailing at 6-0, 1-6, 6-2.
But it was Japanese youngster Nakamura who single-handedly brought the two dozen-odd spectators at the MSLTA courts at Cooperage, Mumbai, to life with a display of some outstanding tennis, though it was still not enough to keep her in the tournament.
In the morning, she was beaten by Sunitha Rao in straight sets 6-3, 6-0. Any other result could not even be expected given the level of Rao's game.
However, it was in the latter part of the day, when she teamed up with Samrita Sekar for the doubles, that the native of Osaka showed what she is capable of.
Playing against Annabel Blow and Dominika Luzarova, the diminutive Aiko gave the European combination a tough fight and won the crowd's support with her gutsy play.
From the very first set, it was clear that Blow/Luzarova had the more powerful game and would not have much trouble beating Nakamura/Sekar. They easily took the first set 6-2 despite the valiant efforts by Nakamura. However, to the surprise and delight of many, Nakamura/Sekar snatched the next one from the physically superior Europeans.
The third was a keenly fought one, with Nakamura giving it everything she had. Though Nakamura/Sekar took the lead, it was clearly visible that Nakamura's diminutive frame, and Sekar's game, would not be able to match her indomitable spirit.
The 17-year-old Nakamura plans to take up tennis full time after completing her graduation and expects to sign a sponsorship deal when she returns to Japan.
Her singles opponent Sunitha Rao is a player to watch out for. The US-based 16-year-old has the advantage of playing in the US and having a place in its junior team. Her fast-paced game is notches above that of many others in the field. Rao will meet Luzarova in the last eight.
Meanwhile, second seeded Manisha Malhotra rallied from a first set loss to beat Chin-Bee Khoo (Malaysia) 4-6, 6-4, 7-6(2).
Though she seemed to be the better player, Malhotra was reluctant to wrap up the game even after it went to the third set. However, at no time did she seem to be losing or under pressure. Even during the tie-breaker, she showed no signs of nerves or a loss of confidence. In sum, she showed every sign of mimicking the Indian cricket team - talented but reluctant to push for victory.
Malhotra will meet Kremer in the quarters.
