An anxious parent, sitting in the top-most corner seat of the main gallery at Centre Court, finally broke into a smile when Kazakhstan’s Zarina Diyas retired due to illness during the sixth game of the second set.
Maaya Rajeshwaran, only 15, advanced to her first quarterfinal with a 6-3, 3-2 (retd.) scoreline in the L&T Mumbai Open WTA 125 at the Cricket Club of India here on Thursday.
The Indian, solid from the baseline, produced some stunning cross-court return winners as she raced to a 5-1 lead against the former World No. 31.
Though Diyas won the next two games with her sharp play, Maaya sealed the set with a spectacular volley.
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The Kazakh held a 2-0 advantage in the second after breaking serve early, but the Indian bounced back in the third game.
Maaya continued to be aggressive as she broke Diyas for a 3-2 lead. A struggling Diyas retired midway through the sixth game.
Shrivalli Bhamidipaty outclassed Aleksandra Kruncic 6-4, 6-0.
After trailing 0-3, the 23-year-old won six straight games and never looked back.
Earlier, Ankita Raina gave second seed Rebecca Marino a run for her money before losing 5-7, 6-2, 6-7(5). In a tight first set, Marino broke Ankita in the 12th game. The Indian roared back to take the second set 6-2 and force a decider, which the Canadian won 7-5 after a tense tie-break.
Other results (round-of-16):
Doubles: Prarthana Thombare & Arianne Hartono bt Nao Hibino & Oksana Kalashnikova 6-1, 6-3.
Eden Silva & Anastasia Tikhonova bt Jessie Aney & Jessica Failla 7-5, 7-5.
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