Mumbai Open: Rutuja Bhosale, Sahaja Yamalapalli lose in pre-quarters

The impressive runs of Indian challengers Sahaja Yamalapalli, Rutuja Bhosale came to an end as they lost their respective pre-quarterfinals on Thursday.

Yamalapalli and Bhosale went down fighting in their pre-quarter-final matches of the L&T Mumbai Open WTA 125K Series Tennis Championships, being organized by the Maharashtra State Lawn Tennis Association (MSLTA).

The 23-year-old Yamalapalli, a wild card entrant and ranked 336 had a chance against the 162nd-ranked 20-year-old Russian girl but blew them away and suffered a 6-1, 3-6, 5-7 defeat in close to two hours.

Bhosale, another wildcard entrant showed a lot of promise initially before losing to eighth seed Katie Volynets of America earlier in the day.

The 22-year-old American beat back a determined challenge from the 27-year-old Indian by carving out a satisfying 7-6(8), 2-6, 6-1 win in just under three hours to advance to the last eight.

Volynets has now defeated a second successive Indian opponent after having beaten India No. 1 Ankita Raina in the opening round. In the quarter-finals, Volynets will take on South Korea’s Sohyun Park, who defeated Italy’s Camilla Rosatello 6-3, 5-7, 6-3 in a battle between two lucky losers.

Meanwhile, Russian teen sensation Alina Korneeva has withdrawn from the competition. The 16-year-old Korneeva, winner of two Grand Slam girls’ singles titles, is down with a viral illness and will not take on Australian Storm Hunter in the quarter-finals.

In doubles action, India’s top-ranked doubles player Prarthana Thombare and Dutch partner Arianne Hartono stormed into the doubles semi-finals. The unseeded duo scored a comfortable 6-4, 6-2 win over the Greek-Aussie combination of Sapfo Sakellaridi/Olivia Tjandramulia to set up a semi-final clash against Sohyun Park/Zhibek Kulambayeva.

In the first singles match of the day, Japanese Moyuka Uchijima also reached the last eight with a 6-2, 6-1 win over Hungary’s Dalma Galfi.