Wildcard Ratnika Batra stamped her authority over qualifier Shweta Rana, beating her 6-3,6-0, to win the DSCL national women's tennis championship at the DLTA complex.
NEW DELHI: Wildcard Ratnika Batra stamped her authority over qualifier Shweta Rana, beating her 6-3,6-0, to win the DSCL national women's tennis championship at the DLTA complex here on Saturday.
In an all-Delhi final, Ratnika,14, showed maturity beyond her age as she overpowered Shweta to become one of the younger ones to win the national.
With superior technique, Ratnika attacked Shweta's weak serve with power-packed returns, keeping her strokes high and beyond her petite opponent's reach. Shweta helplessly watched Ratnika lob cleverly.
Ratnika, though, got off to an ominious start getting broken in the first game, but broke back in the fourth and then again in the sixth.
Shweta missed an opportunity to break Ratnika a second time immediately and with that the first set was gone. As it turned out, it was also the last time in the match that Shweta looked like putting up a fight.
The perky, 15-year-old , after being a set down, seemed to lose interest and went through the motions to conceded six games in a reel to settle for the runner-up spot. The match lasted a little over an hour.
A jubiliant Ratnika confessed she didn't expect the match to be so easy.
"I was down 0-2 and was expecting a tough competition. But I soon got my rhythm back and was able to go a break up. From then on she committed a lot of errors and gave up the second set without a fight," said Ratnika, also an under-14 and under-16 champion.
Shweta found herself at a loss to reason out her defeat.
" I do not know what happened. I began well but once she broke me, I couldn't pick my game. I went completely blank in the second set," she said.
The win will fetch Ratnika Rs 30,000 and a wildcard to play at the $10,000 ITF tournament in Bangalore in February. Shweta will take home Rs 20,000.
Shalini Saoo and Treta Bhattacharya beat Arantxa Andrady and Sayali Bhilare, 6-1, 6-3, to claim the doubles title and will split the prize money Rs14,000. Arantxa and Sayali received Rs 10,000.
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
)
)
)
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}