Somdev Devvarman reached the singles semifinal of the ONGC-GAIL Delhi Open after Ze Zhang retired mid-way due to a shoulder injury while Ankita Raina waged a brave fight before bowing out of the women’s ITF event.
Somdev had pocketed the first set 6-2 when Zhang’s injured shoulder did not let him continue, sending the Indian into his third successive semifinal. He had also reached the semifinals of Chennai and Kolkata events.
In the women’s singles quarterfinals, India’s number one player Ankita Raina put up a spirited fight against third seed Yulia Beygelzimer from Ukraine as she saved three match points before losing 3-6 5-7 in two hours and five minutes on court number one.
Ankita did not lack in her effort but had an experienced rival, currently ranked 180 but once world number 83, who was well attuned to play according to situation. Ankita played with a lot of conviction but tried too hard and consequently made errors on crucial points. Somdev will look to win.
Somdev had pocketed the first set 6-2 when Zhang’s injured shoulder did not let him continue, sending the Indian into his third successive semifinal. He had also reached the semifinals of Chennai and Kolkata events.
In the women’s singles quarterfinals, India’s number one player Ankita Raina put up a spirited fight against third seed Yulia Beygelzimer from Ukraine as she saved three match points before losing 3-6 5-7 in two hours and five minutes on court number one.
Ankita did not lack in her effort but had an experienced rival, currently ranked 180 but once world number 83, who was well attuned to play according to situation. Ankita played with a lot of conviction but tried too hard and consequently made errors on crucial points. Somdev will look to win.