Shrivalli, the star of India’s memorable BJK Cup journey Premium

Shrivalli Bhamidipaty shines in India's Billie Jean King Cup journey with five singles wins, leading to World Group play-off.

Shrivalli Bhamidipaty made heads turn with persistent wins, five in five singles matches, in India’s progress to the World Group play-off in the Billie Jean King Cup women’s tennis championship in Pune recently.

Playing in the team competition at home for the first time, the 23-year-old Shrivalli had a hand in five of the nine matches that India won in this campaign. The side’s two singles triumphs came courtesy of Vaidehi Chaudhari who stepped in for first-choice Sahaja Yamalapalli, who had to retire in the third set of her second singles match against world No. 105 Mananchaya Sawangkaew of Thailand.

India’s campaign was delicately placed before its last tie against Korea. Captain Vishal Uppal played his cards well, bringing back Sahaja in place of Vaidehi. This meant Shrivalli was back to take on the No. 2 side after winning two of her games against the Hong Kong and Chinese Taipei’s top-ranked players Hong Yi Cody Wong and Joanna Garland, respectively.

The fixture that followed – between Shrivalli and Korea’s Sohyun Park – was a three-hour blockbuster which ended up being a great endorsement for the health of Asian women’s tennis. The 23-year-old Indian ground out an incredible 5-7, 6-3, 7-6(5) victory.

Over the years, Shrivalli has been known for her dynamism as a player who could serve and stroke with authority and belt the ball fiercely but in short spells. The ability to stay focused and get the work done was invariably missing, especially against high-quality opponents.

Thus, it was a revelation that Shrivalli kept hammering the winners, and stayed focused for three hours against the Korean who threw everything at her. This gripping contest was easily among the highlights of the six-team tournament.

Shrivalli was confidence-personified in her come-from-behind victory against the 22-year-old Park, who had grown quite comfortable with the conditions, having won a tournament in India earlier this season.