India’s Maaya Rajeshwaran powered into the singles semifinal of the Mumbai Open 125 tennis tournament on Friday.
| Photo Credit: EMMANUAL YOGINI
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.
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.
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 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.
Doubles (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.
Published – February 07, 2025 11:03 pm IST
