Winner Tanisha Kashyap poses with the SKME ITF Open trophy at the KSLTA tennis stadium in Bengaluru on Sunday.
Credit: DH Photo
Bengaluru: In an all-Indian finale, Tanisha Kashyap came up with the goods when it mattered to annex the SKME ITF Open at the KSLTA Tennis stadium on Sunday.
The 22-year-old Tanisha’s come-from-behind 6-7 (5-7), 6-1, 6-1 win over an error-prone Akanksha Nitture in the $15,000 event ended her title drought at the senior level.
After losing the opening set where fortunes fluctuating, Tanisha stepped up her game several notches to have Akanksha on the backfoot and breezed through the next two sets to walk away with the winner’s cheque of $2,352.
“This is a special one, I think it is the first of many more to come,” said an elated Tanisha. “It just feels amazing to win my first title, I want to cherish this moment and work harder for the next ones,” she added.
Baharmus-Ingale win
It was a bad day in the office for Akanksha, who suffered another setback in the doubles final. Playing three matches on the day, the weary Akanksha and partner Soha Sadiq, the reigning National champions, went down 6-3, 0-6, 6-10 to the top-seeded pair of Humera Baharmus and Pooja Ingale.
Akanksha and Soha had earlier beaten Arina Arifullina of Russia and Malaysia’s Jo-Leen Saw pair 6-7 (6-8), 6-3, 10-6 in the semifinals.
Results (prefix denotes seeding, Indians unless mentioned): Singles (final): 8-Tanisha Kashyap bt 7-Akanksha Nitture 6-7 (7-5), 6-1, 6-1.
Doubles: Final: 1-Humera Baharmus/ Pooja Ingale bt 2-Soha Sadiq/ Akanksha Nitture 3-6, 6-0, 10-6.