CHENNAI: Defeating 2017 US Open champion Sloane Stephens was the turning point of the season for India's number 1 women’s tennis player Sahaja Yamalapalli. A fortnight ago, the 25-year-old beat Stephens in straight sets in the round of 32 at the WTA $125000 event in Tampico, Mexico. She, however, went down fighting to Petra Marcinko of Croatia in the next round.
“I think I started the season well," she said after her victory over Priska Nugroho in the round of 32 at the SDAT Tennis Stadium on Wednesday. "Then I had a dip in between. I was winning here and there, but I was not on top. But in Tampico, when I played Stephens, I felt like I found my game again. I felt like my form was back.”
She was keen on continuing that momentum at the Chennai Open and has managed to do so in style, on her birthday. Initially, Yamalapalli, from the outside, seemed off-rhythm with her forehand and backhand shots. She also struggled to get the volleys past the net. What made the difference is that Yamalapalli never lost her mental composure.
It looked like Nugroho wanted to disrupt the rhythm of her Indian opponent. “Sometimes I lose my rhythm and then bounce back. It was on and off. But throughout the match, I felt like I had the feel of the ball and I was on top. (On the missed volleys), I think it was just today (Wednesday). But she (Nugroho) also makes you hit an extra ball. So that gives more pressure to the player. That is something that I need to be on top for tomorrow,” she said.
Yamalapalli is confirmed to face Donna Vekic, who battled the Chennai heat to see off India's lucky loser Vaishnavi Adkar 6-1, 6-2.
Olympic medallist battles Chennai heat
Earlier, in the Centre Court, Croatian Vekic had to overcome Chennai heat with a medical timeout. Though the temperature was not as menacing as in summers after two days of rain. Yet for the Croatian it was a bit challenging. To win the round of 32 match in straight sets against Indian Vaishnavi Adkar, Vekic had to take the not-so-straight route in dealing with Adkar. After the timeout, the Paris Olympics silver medallist used her experience to draw unforced errors from an inconsistent Vaishnavi.
After winning silver in the Paris Olympics, the 29-year-old has had a tumultuous time. Amidst early exits in several tournaments, she has failed to go past the round of 16 in any of the tournaments she featured in.
Coming to India after 13 years (She played in the 2012 WTA Royal Indian Open in Pune) and to the city for the first time, she felt the perils of the heat. After winning the first set 6-1, the sun was getting the better of Vekic.
“I was very dizzy, we had a couple of long points. After (the medical timeout), the clouds came back and that helped me,” she recounted. Vekic ensured that she did not allow long points. “She (Vaishnavi) played very well in the next two games. I was a breakpoint down at 2-1. So, I was just focusing on trying to keep the points short and try to serve well and try to get free points,” she added.
Incidentally, Wednesday's sweltering heat has forced three retirements. Francesca Jones (Great Britain), Maria Timofeeva (Uzbekistan) and Alina Charaeva (Russia) had to walk due to "heat illness" according to the organisers.
Select results: Centre Court: S Yamalapalli bt P Nugroho 6-4, 6-2, D Vekic bt V Adkar 6-1, 6-2, L Fruhvirtova bt A Lew Yan Foon 6-2, 6-2, S Bhamidipaty bt M Rajeshwaran 6-1, 6-4; Court 1: Z Sonmez bt T Prozorova 7-5, 6-4; Court 2: M Pohonkova bt N Hibino 7-5, 6-1; Court 3: J Tjen bt C Werner 6-4, 7-6(5), 6-2.
Thursday's order of play (Centre Court): From 3 pm: J Tjen vs L Fruhvirtova followed by S Yamalapalli vs D Vekic followed by K Birrell vs S Bhamidipaty followed by Z Sonmez vs L Tararudee
