Ankita Raina upsets Yuka Higuchi to reach round two – Chang ITF Pro Circuit 2012
Indian starlet, Ankita Raina, rallied past the seventh seed, Yuka Higuchi of Japan, in a three-set thriller at the Chang ITF Pro Circuit 2012 on Tuesday. She summed up a 6-2, 2-6, 6-2 victory against the Japanese to progress into the round of 16 at this ITF (International Tennis Federation) Women’s Circuit event taking place from 10th to 16th December in Bangkok, Thailand.
The Indian challenger remained focused throughout the battle, eventually pulling out the victory in almost one and a half hour. As a result, she comfortably secured a spot in the second round at this outdoor hard court event.
Raina made a convincing entry at the Rama Garden Sport Complex. She quickly broke her rival’s opening two serves and jumped to a 4-0 lead. The Indian then held her composure and slid remaining serves, eventually sealing the opener by winning six games to two. She was never threatened with any breakpoint and cashed both break opportunities to dominate.
The 25-year-old Japanese made a fitting reply in the following set. After Raina held her serve in the third game, the Japanese unleashed her skills and went on a five-game tear. She blocked all three breakpoints she came across and cashed both break chances to get back in contention.
Ranked 574th in the WTA (Women’s Tennis Association) Premier Rankings, Raina found her early rhythm again in the final set. She again reeled off opening four games before Higuchi could come on the score sheet. She then held her composure and eventually clicked the decider with a 6-2 win.
The 19-year-old is standing on a poor run of form this season. She exited from opening or early rounds from several ITF events. Adding further to her misery, Raina bowed out to fourth seed Rishika Sunkara in gruelling three sets at the Royal Indian Open, a WTA Challenger event held in Pune.
Raina will square off against Hong Kong’s Ho Ching Wu who battled past the Czech contestant, Tereza Malikova, in a three-set thriller to set up this meeting. Wu clobbered a 7-5, 4-6, 6-3 victory against the Czech to advance at this event.
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