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Rishika, Prerna advance to second round in tennis
New Delhi: Qualifier Rishika Sunkara and wildcard Prerna Bhambri secured contrasting but straight set victories over fellow Indians to advance to the second round of the QNET Open $50,000 ITF Women’s Circuit at DLTA Tennis Complex here Monday.
Rishika, who ended up on the losing side the last couple of times she faced Shweta Rana, found the first round match a piece of cake. She controlled the match from the start and Shweta made it easier by losing her cool.
“Having lost the last two times to Shweta, I did not think this is going to be this easy. We have been playing together for a long time now and know one another’s game. It all boils down to how one plays crucial points,” Rishika said, who went on to make the day a memorable one by going through to the doubles quarter-finals with Arantxa Andrady.
After struggling a little in the opening set against Sharon Sanchana Paul, who was lucky to be given a wildcard, Prerna stamped her presence and claimed a 6-4, 6-2 victory. She will most likely face second-seeded Anastasiya Vasylyeva (Ukraine) next.
Russia’s left-handed Margarita Lazareva beat Romanian Daiana Negreanu 7-5, 6-3.
Results (Indians unless specified):
Singles (first round): Margarita Lazareva (Russia) beat Daiana Negreanu (Romania) 7-5, 6-3; Harmony Tan (France) beat Peangtarn Plipuech (Thailand) 6-4, 6-0; Rishika Sunkara beat Shweta Rana 6-2, 6-0; Lu Jia-Jing (China) beat Chang Liu (China) 7-6(3), 6-1; Prerna Bhambri beat Sharon Sanchana Paul 6-4, 6-2.
Doubles (first round): (1) Lertpitaksinchai Nicha and Peangtarn Plipuech (Thailand) beat Ushna Suhail (Pakistan) and Vaniya Dangwal (India) 6-0, 6-0; Prathana Thombare and Emily Webley-Smith (Britain) beat Himani Mor and Vanshika Sawhney 6-2, 6-0; (4) Liu Chang and Lu Jia-Jing (China) beat Bhuvana Kalva and Natasha Palha 7-6(5), 2-6, 10-8; Kamonwam Buayam (Thailand) and Sabina Sharipova (Uzbekistan) beat Ivana Jorovic (Serbia) and Sofiya Kovalets (Ukraine) 6-3, 1-6, 10-5; Hsu Ching-Wen (Chinese Taipei) and Wang Xi-Yao (China) beat Daiana Negreanu (Romania) and Prerna Bhambri 6-1, 7-6(6); (3)Margarita Lazareva (Russia) and Anastasiya Vasylyeva (Ukraine) beat Riya Bhatia and Sharon Sanchana Paul 6-2, 6-0; Arantxa Andrady and Rishika Sunkara beat Wu Ho Ching (Hong Kong) and Sai Samhitha Chamarthi 7-6(4), 6-3; (2) Marina Melnikova (Russia) and Elise Mertens (Belgium) beat Fama al-Nabhani (Oman) and Ankita Raina 6-2, 6-7(5), 10-3.
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Sunil Gavaskar gives his opinion of GT allrounder Rahul Tewatia
The left-handed batsman from Haryana is garnering praise from all quarters for the way he’s finishing games regularly in the most exciting IPL season.
Gavaskar reckons Tewatia’s whirlwind knock in Sharjah (in IPL 2020) where he smashed West Indies pacer Sheldon Cottrell for five sixes in an over, gave him the confidence that he belongs to the big stage.
Speaking on Cricket Live on Star Sports, Gavaskar said, “That assault on Sheldon Cottrell in Sharjah gave him the belief to do the impossible and the confidence that he belongs here. We saw the impossible (he did with the bat) the other day as well. There’s no twitching or touching the pads (which shows a batter’s nervousness) when he bats in the death overs. He just waits for the ball to be delivered and plays his shots. He’s got all the shots in the book, but most importantly his temperament to stay cool in a crisis is brilliant.”
Gavaskar has also nicknamed the 28-year-old cricketer the ‘ice-man’ and lauded Tewatia’s ability to remain unruffled during the tense moments.