India’s 15-year-old Maaya Rajeshwaran roared into her first WTA semifinal, knocking out Japan’s Mei Yamaguchi 6-4, 3-6, 6-2 in the L&T Mumbai Open 125 at the Cricket Club of India here on Friday.
Yamaguchi started aggressively, mixing strong forehands with clever slices and raced to a 2-0 lead. She continued to apply pressure with powerful baseline winners to stretch the lead to 3-1. Maaya fought back with an ace and a beautiful drop shot to level the score 3-3.
A slew of errors undid the Japanese after an early period of dominance, which Maaya capitalised on to capture the first set by breaking her opponent in the 10th game.
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In the second, the 25-year-old hammered down a few aces on the way to a 3-2 lead. Maaya responded with a precise backhand down the line to level the score. Yamaguchi then won three consecutive games to send the match into a decider.
After dropping the first game of the final set, Maaya won five straight games to leave her opponent gasping. She later sealed the match with a brilliant forehand winner to set up a semifinal clash against fifth-seeded Jil Teichmann of Switzerland.
Earlier, India’s Shrivalli Bhamidipaty lost to Teichmann 2-6, 2-6 in her quarterfinal.
In the doubles, India’s Prarthana Thombare partnering Arianne Hartono entered the final with a thrilling 2-6, 6-4, [10-2] win over Eden Silva and Anastasia Tikhonava.
Other results:
Singles (quarterfinals): Rebecca Marino (Can) bt Mai Hontama (Jpn) 6-3, 6-4; Mananchaya Sawangkaew (Tha) bt Lanlana Tararudee (Tha) 7-5, 3-6, 6-2.
Doubes (quarterfinals): Amina Anshba & Elena Pridankina bt Alicia Barnett (GBr) & Rutuja Bhosale 6-4, 6-3; Nicole Fossa Huergo (Ita) & Camilla Rosatello (Ita) bt Shrivalli Bhimadipaty & Riya Bhatia 6-3, 6-3.