Samrita Sekar stuns Thukkiandi

Top seed Sonal Phadke met with unexpected resistance from qualifier Deepa Chakrabarthy and was forced to go through the distance before prevailing 2-6, 6-2, 6-0 in the first round of the first leg ITF women's tennis circuit, at the Maharashtra State Lawn Tennis Association, in Bombay, on Monday.

The 18-year-old local girl, who has represented India at several international tournaments, woke up in the second set to prevail in one hour and 21 minutes.

If Chakrabarthy failed in her upset bid, Samrita Sekar, another unseeded lass, succeeded. She sent fourth seed Yamini Thukkiandi packing with surprising ease, winning 6-2, 6-2 in a little over an hour.

Second seed Archana Venkataraman, sixth seed Megha Vakhari and eighth seed Lisa Pereira won easily, beating Kamini Murugaboopathy, Krushmi Chheda and Naina Karsolia respectively. Venkataraman took 69 minutes for a 6-3, 6-2 victory while Vakharia won 6-0, 6-1 in 45 minutes. Pereira won 6-0, 6-2 in 40 minutes.

Wild card Lata Asudani too booked a berth in the second round after a 6-0, 1-6, 7-5 victory over Preeti Rao.

Another wild card Tara Kanbargimath crushed qualifier Anuradha Gurung 6-1, 6-4 while Isha Lakhani prevailed 6-2, 4-6, 6-3 over Ridhina Parek.