Chennai, Nov 4 India’s teenage sensation Maaya Rajeshwaran Revathi scripted a significant chapter in the country’s tennis history on Wednesday, becoming the first Indian woman since Sania Mirza in 2012 to reach a WTA Tour-level singles quarterfinal.
The 17-year-old Maaya, ranked 669th in the world, produced a straight-set 6-4 6-3 win over Polish qualifier Weronika Falkowska, ranked 277th, in the second round of the Chennai Open, where no Indian managed to go beyond the second round in previous two editions.
The milestone is a significant one for Indian women’s tennis, with Maaya ending almost a 15-year wait for an Indian to reach the last eight of a WTA Tour singles event since Sania achieved the feat back in February 2012 when she made the last-eight stage at Pattaya Open.
Maaya’s breakthrough in Chennai is the latest step in a rapid rise on the professional circuit this season. She announced her arrival with a maiden W35 singles title in Lagos, Portugal, in October, winning the tournament as a qualifier without dropping a set.
She also claimed the doubles title, alongside Ukraine’s Yelyzaveta Kotliar, making her the youngest Indian to win a professional singles title since Sania.
Maaya recently moved from the Rafa Nadal Academy in Spain to the Elite Tennis Center in southern France.
Her victory was far from straightforward, though, with the match characterised by a succession of breaks, double faults and unforced errors from both players. But Maaya’s attacking instincts and ability to seize the important moments eventually proved decisive.
Maaya’s start was uncharacteristically erratic. She opened with a double fault and dropped her serve after committing a series of unforced errors, but immediately broke back as Falkowska struggled with her returns.
The Indian continued to go for her shots but a low first-serve percentage allowed the Polish player to attack her second serve. Falkowska broke again with a cross-court winner after Maaya attempted to charge the net.
The opening set turned into a battle of errors, with five consecutive breaks of serve before Falkowska finally held without dropping a point to take a 4-2 lead.
Maaya responded by breaking back and holding serve for a 5-4 advantage. Falkowska then compounded her problems with two double faults and a forehand error to hand the Indian two set points.
Maaya missed the first with a backhand that sailed long but converted the second when Falkowska went for a cross-court winner and sent it wide, giving the teenager the opening set.
The second set followed a similar pattern, with Falkowska attempting to hit with greater weight and Maaya looking to impose herself through aggressive shot-making.
The Indian, however, found greater consistency when it mattered, breaking Falkowska in the eighth game to open up a 5-3 lead before serving out the match on her third match point when her opponent netted a forehand.
Results:
Women’s singles – Round of 16:
Polina Kudermetova (6) beat Oksana Selekhmeteva 6-3, 6-0.
Robin Montgomery beat Jeline Vandromme 6-4, 3-6, 7-5.
Janice Tjen (1) beat Joanna Garland 7-6(1), 6-1.
Maaya Rajeshwaran Revathi beat Weronika Falkowska 6-4, 6-3.
Indian players: Women’s doubles, Round of 16:
Vaishnavi Adkar and Rutuja Bhosale beat Madeleine Brooks and Amelia Rajecki 6-4, 6-4.
Nahia Karamoko and Simona Waltert beat Diya Ramesh and D. Vinayagamurthy 6-2, 6-2.
Georgina Da Silva Fick and Zhibek Kulambayeva beat Hiroko Kuwata and Ankita Raina 6-1, 6-1.
(PTI News)
