Megha overwhelms Rati

By Kamesh Srinivasan

NEW DELHI, JUNE 18. Megha Vakharia announced her return with a reverberating 6-0, 6-3 triumph over Rati Kumar in the third leg of the $ 5000 Syndicate Bank-ITF women's circuit tennis tournament at the DLTA Complex here on Monday.

The 16-year-old Megha served and stroked in style as she asserted her supremacy against an opponent who was unable to cope with the pace on the fast deco-turf courts.

Playing with the natural elegance of a left-hander, Megha hit the ball on the rise to catch Rati on the wrong foot many a time, before cruising into the pre-quarterfinals in about an hour.

Megha had missed the second leg in Indore last week following a twisted ankle. She had lost to the eventual champion Sonal Phadke in the semifinal in Mumbai, and has already served the warning for the rest of the field with her attacking game.

Megha will meet the 27-year-old Amanda Parson-Siegel of Denmark who got past the eighth-seeded S.K. Tara. The latter had to pull in pain out early in the second set because of a lower-back strain.

Yamini Thukkaiandi defeated Sandra Sasidharan comfortably and will be ready to meet the challenge from Archana Venkataraman, the champion of the second leg, who will play her first round against Ridhina Parekh on Tuesday.

Liza Pereira and Karishma Patel set up a second round clash between themselves, with comfortable wins against less fancied players.

Arthi Venkataraman emphasised her status as the fifth seed by blanking qualifier Kamini Murugaboopathy. She will face Laila Shetty of the US, who literally sweated it out against Lata Assudani, despite conceding a mere four games.

Qualifier Preeti Rao enhanced her chances of qualification for the Masters with a victory over Sonali Sanap for the loss of two games. Preeti will meet the winner of the match between Nandita Chandrasekhar and Sricharanya Thiagarajan. Nandita's match was postponed on her request, as she was running high fever. Top- seeded Sonal Phadke was in fine form towards the end, stroking winners with confidence, serving with good direction, and moving smoothly as she defeated Annie Trepanier of Canada for the loss of four games.

The 24-year-old Annie had managed to eke out only two games against Sonal in Mumbai, but was able to match her in the first set this day. It may have to be conceded that Sonal was patient in rallying with her opponent initially, getting into the groove before accelerating smoothly to a brilliant finish.

The 19-year-old Sonal will be challenged by Ankita Bhambri who was ruthless in executing a 6-0, 6-1 triumph over Naina Karsolia.

The results (first round, Indians unless specified): Sonal Phadke bt Annie Trepanier (Can) 6-3, 6-1; Ankita Bhambri bt Naina Karsolia 6-0, 6-1; Megha Vakharia bt Rati Kumar 6-0, 6-3; Amanda Parson-Siegel bt S.K. Tara 6-4, 1-0 (retd.); Preeti Rao bt Sonali Sanap 6-0, 6-2; Arthi Venkataraman bt Kamini Murugaboopathy 6-0, 6-0; Laila Shetty (U.S.) bt Lata Assudani 6-2, 6-2; Marutha Devi bt Noopur Desai 6-3, 6-3; Liza Pereira bt Deepa Chakraborty 6-3, 6-3; Karishma Patel bt Surabhi Singh 6-1, 6-0; Yamini Thukkaiandi bt Sandra Sasidharan 6-4, 6-2.

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