Rutuja Bhosale hits back at So-Ra Lee in opening round – Royal Indian Open 2012
Local wild card entrant, Rutuja Bhosale, made a comeback from a set down to outsmart the South Korean challenger, So-Ra Lee, in a three-set thriller at the Royal Indian Open 2012 on Monday. She summed up a 3-6, 7-6(4), 6-4 victory against the 18-year-old
to power into the second round at this second WTA (Women’s Tennis Association) Challenger Series event taking place in Pune, India.
In a battle between two teenagers, Bhosale overpowered the South Korean in their first encounter. After recording the victory in two hours and 41 minutes, the Indian took lead in the head-to-head series by 1-0 against Lee and progressed into the second round
at this outdoor hard court event.
Lee made quick in-roads at the Balewood Sports Complex. She dropped her serve twice but cashed three out of four break chances to formulate a 6-3 success.
Ranked 708th in the WTA Premier Rankings, Bhosale re-focused her strategy in the following set. She exchanged two breaks of serve and took the set to a tie-breaker. She dominated in it and eventually pulled out the equaliser with a 7-6(4) score
line.
The 16-year-old maintained consistency in her game in the final set which counted the most. She dusted away one out of three breakpoints she faced and marked three out of four break chances to formulate a 6-4 victory.
Next up for Bhosale is seventh seeded Elina Svitolina who dumped the Slovenian qualifier, Andreja Klepac, in straight sets to set up this meeting.
The third seed, Donna Vekic from Croatia, also stole the spotlight later that night. She jolted down a 6-0, 6-1 victory against the Thai challenger, Varatchaya Wongteanchai, in 51 minutes.
"She is a good player," Vekic beamed in a courtside interview after the match. "Though the scoreline reads 60 61, it was a much tougher match. I like the courts and I am hoping to go all the way in the tournament. I have always liked playing in India and
the last tournament that I played here, I ended up winning it. I am hoping that this one goes along similar lines!"
Vekic will face off the winner of the match between Georgia’s Oksana Kalashnikova and the Australian challenger, Monique Adamczak.
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