Prarthana Thombare pins that elusive singles title

MUMBAI: Prarthana Thombare executed her long pending threat as she won her maiden singles title with a 6-3, 6-7(10), 6-4 victory over Ching-Wen Hsu of Chinese Taipei in the final of the $15,000 ITF women’s tennis tournament at the CCI Courts, Brabourne Stadium.

After her fighting performance in another final earlier in Egypt when she went down fighting in three tough sets, it was clear that the 19-year-old Prarthana would win her first title soon.

She had been pretty consistent on the circuit, and had also made two quarterfinals in the $25,000 tournaments in Lagos, Nigeria.

Thanks to Sachin Tendulkar, Prarthana Thombare’s fare in Mumbai went unnoticed in most of the media, but nobody can deny her the confidence that she has gained from the title. After a string of good performances this year when she had three semifinals and five quarterfinals, Prarthana has been able to believe in her ability a lot more than before.

There is no doubt that Prarthana, coached by Hemant Bendre and supported by Lakshya, has the game, and just needs to work on it more with a firm belief. The Australian Open wild card event in China, will be another good platform for Prarthana as she has been given a wild card for the main event.

She has four doubles titles in her account already, and thus should develop into a good all-round player, with a strong fighting streak.

Final

Prarthana G. THOMBARE  [1] bt Ching-Wen HSU (TPE) 6-3 6-7(10) 6-4     

Semifinals

Prarthana G. THOMBARE  [1] bt Anamika BHARGAVA (USA) [8] 6-7(8) 6-4 6-1     

Ching-Wen HSU (TPE) bt Prerna BHAMBRI  [7] 1-6 6-4 6-2     

Quarterfinals

Prarthana G. THOMBARE  [1] bt Natasha PALHA  [6] 6-3 6-3     

Anamika BHARGAVA (USA) [8] bt Rishika SUNKARA  [3] 2-6 6-2 7-5     

Prerna BHAMBRI  [7] bt Riya BHATIA  6-1 6-3     

Ching-Wen HSU (TPE) bt Nidhi CHILUMULA  [5] 6-4 7-5     

Pre-quarterfinals

Prarthana G. THOMBARE  [1] bt Smriti JOON  6-2 6-3     

Natasha PALHA  [6] bt Adnya NAIK  6-0 6-2     

Rishika SUNKARA  [3] bt Sharmada BALU  1-6 6-4 6-3     

Anamika BHARGAVA (USA) [8] bt Rushmi CHAKRAVARTHI  6-2 6-2     

Prerna BHAMBRI  [7] bt Mahitha DADI REDDY  6-3 6-1     

Riya BHATIA  bt Vaniya DANGWAL  6-1 6-1     

Nidhi CHILUMULA  [5] bt Likitha SHETTY  6-0 6-1     

Ching-Wen HSU (TPE) bt Emily WEBLEY-SMITH (GBR) [2] 7-6(3) 3-6 6-1     

First Round

Prarthana G. THOMBARE  [1] bt Sai Samhitha CHAMARTHI  6-0 4-6 6-1     

Smriti JOON (IND bt Preethi UJJINI  ) 6-0 6-4     

Adnya NAIK  bt Anushka SATHE  6-1 6-0     

Natasha PALHA  [6] bt Nikita DESHMUKH  6-0 4-0 Retired    

Rishika SUNKARA  [3] bt Jeni PATEL  6-3 6-1     

Sharmada BALU  bt Eden SILVA (GBR) 6-1 2-6 6-4     

Rushmi CHAKRAVARTHI  bt Snehadevi S REDDY  6-4 7-5     

Anamika BHARGAVA (USA) [8] bt Varunya CHANDRASHEKAR  ] 6-1 6-1     

Prerna BHAMBRI  [7] bt Sagarika PHADKE  6-1 6-1     

Mahitha DADI REDDY  bt Amreen NAAZ  6-1 6-1     

Vaniya DANGWAL  bt Manya NAGPAL  6-3 7-5     

Riya BHATIA  bt Shweta RANA  [4] 6-2 6-2     

Nidhi CHILUMULA  [5] bt Sneha PADAMATA  6-2 6-1     

Likitha SHETTY  bt Sanya MADAN  6-1 6-3     

Ching-Wen HSU (TPE) bt Ayaka OKUNO (JPN) 7-6(5) 6-2     

Emily WEBLEY-SMITH (GBR) [2] bt Supriya ZENDE  6-0 6-0     

Doubles

Final

Anamika BHARGAVA (USA) / Emily WEBLEY-SMITH (GBR) [1] bt Ching-Wen HSU (TPE) / Eden SILVA (GBR) 6-4 7-5    

Semifinals

Anamika BHARGAVA (USA)/Emily WEBLEY-SMITH (GBR) [1] bt Prerna BHAMBRI /Mahitha DADI REDDY  6-3 6-3

Ching-Wen HSU (TPE) / Eden SILVA (GBR) bt Sharmada BALU  / Prarthana G. THOMBARE  [3] 4-6 6-2 [10-8]

Quarterfinals

Anamika BHARGAVA (USA) / Emily WEBLEY-SMITH (GBR) [1] bt Sagarika PHADKE  / Sahan SHETTY  6-0 6-3     

Prerna BHAMBRI  / Mahitha DADI REDDY  bt Ayaka OKUNO (JPN) / Natasha PALHA  6-3 6-4     

Sharmada BALU  / Prarthana G. THOMBARE  [3] bt Riya BHATIA  / Adnya NAIK  6-4 6-3     

Ching-Wen HSU (TPE) / Eden SILVA (GBR) bt Nidhi CHILUMULA  / Rishika SUNKARA  [2] 6-7(1) 6-3 [10-5]     

First Round

Anamika BHARGAVA (USA) / Emily WEBLEY-SMITH (GBR) [1]     BYE   

Sagarika PHADKE  / Sahan SHETTY  bt Varunya CHANDRASHEKAR  / Smriti JOON  7-5 6-3     

Prerna BHAMBRI  / Mahitha DADI REDDY  bt Rushmi CHAKRAVARTHI  / Shweta RANA  [4] 7-5 6-2     

Ayaka OKUNO (JPN) / Natasha PALHA  bt Anushka SATHE  / Diana Abi SEKAR  6-0 6-0     

Riya BHATIA  / Adnya NAIK  bt Sneha PADAMATA  / Likitha SHETTY  6-0 6-3     

Sharmada BALU  / Prarthana G. THOMBARE  [3] bt Vaniya DANGWAL  / Manya NAGPAL  6-1 6-1     

Ching-Wen HSU (TPE) / Eden SILVA (GBR) bt Sai Samhitha CHAMARTHI  / Snehadevi S REDDY  4-6 6-0 [10-6]    

Nidhi CHILUMULA  / Rishika SUNKARA  [2]     BYE   

Qualifying event

Second and final round

Amreen NAAZ  bt Sharmeen RIZVI  1-6 6-2 6-2     

Sagarika PHADKE  bt Disha Satish AGARWAL  6-2 6-3     

Preethi UJJINI   bt PRERNA Singal  6-0 6-0     

Supriya ZENDE  bt Joshini TULI  1-6 6-0 7-5

Anushka SATHE  bt Bhargavi NITIN MANGUDKAR  6-3 6-2     

Riya BHATIA  bt Tanvee BOSE  6-1 6-1     

Adnya NAIK  bt Diana Abi SEKAR  6-2 6-0     

Likitha SHETTY  bt Sahan SHETTY  6-2 1-6 6-3     

First round

Amreen NAAZ      BYE   

Sharmeen RIZVI      BYE   

Sagarika PHADKE      BYE   

Disha Satish AGARWAL      BYE   

Preethi UJJINI  bt Sheetal SHETTY  6-0 6-0     

Singal PRERNA      BYE   

Joshini TULI      BYE   

Supriya ZENDE      BYE   

Anushka SATHE  bt Seema KUMARI  6-0 6-0     

Bhargavi NITIN MANGUDKAR      BYE   

Tanvee BOSE      BYE   

Riya BHATIA  bt Neharika RAMA  6-0 6-1     

Adnya NAIK      BYE   

Diana Abi SEKAR      BYE   

Likitha SHETTY      BYE   

Sahan SHETTY  bt Mahrukh KOKNI  6-2 6-0