Zeel Desai wriggles past Akanksha Nitture

Shruti Ahlawat cruises past Soha Sadiq

Top seed Zeel Desai found herself in a spot of trouble before beating Akanksha Nitture 6-7(3), 6-2, 6-3 in the $15,000 ITF women’s tennis pre-quarterfinals at the Tennis Project, Baliawas, on Thursday.

After a slow start when she was down 0-3, Zeel recovered to be in the driver’s seat at 5-3 in the opening set, but did not get into any rhythm or consistency against a clever opponent who used the drop shots and stroked firmly into the corners with telling effect.

Despite being exasperated with her inability to adjust to the pace and bounce of the synthetic court, after having played on clay last week with considerable success, Zeel showed character to hang on and find her way to the quarterfinals.

At 3-3 in the decider, when she had fought back from 1-3, Akanksha missed a game point after saving three breakpoints. Zeel pressed hard with sharp strokes to pull through.

In the quarterfinals, Zeel will play Sathwika Sama who took the defensive game to a different level in outwitting left-hander Smriti Bhasin in two tight sets.

Shrivalli Bhamidipaty was in explosive form as she outplayed Humera Baharmus for the loss of four games. She will next challenge third seed Punnin Kovapitukted of Thailand.

The young Shruti Ahlawat continued to impress as she cruised past Soha Sadiq, who was troubled by a heel injury. She will meet Yubarani Banerjee who overcame initial resistance from Sharmada Balu to win for the loss of five games.