Chennai Open 2022: Ankita Raina blown away by Tatjana Maria

On
the
second
day
of
the
tournament
in
Chennai,
Raina
fell
to
a
0-6,
1-6
loss
to
experience
German
player
Tatjana
Maria.

Meanwhile,
it
was
end
of
the
road
for
the
top-seeded
player
in
the
fray.
Alison-Riske
Amritraj
was
sent
packing
by
Russia’s
Anastasia
Gasanova.
Amritraj
fell
to
a
2-6,
3-3
loss
to
Gasanova
in
a
one
hour
29
minutes
match.

The
fourth-seed
Maria
proved
too
good
for
the
29-year
old
Indian,
dashing
her
hopes
in
an
hour
and
15
minutes.
The
Wimbledon
semifinalist
did
not
allow
Raina
any
chance.
Though
the
German
did
not
hit
too
many
winners,
she
simply
sliced
her
way
to
success.

She
opted
for
the
slice
on
numerous
occasions,
frustrating
the
local
player.
The
first
set
was
over
in
31
minutes
with
the
No.
4
seed
making
the
most
of
a
weak
Raina
serve
while
saving
two
break
points
on
her
own
serve.
The
second
too
appeared
to
be
heading
towards
a
rout
before
the
Indian
managed
to
win
a
game.

The
fact
that
Raina
could
win
only
38
out
of
the
101
points
to
her
opponent’s
63
indicated
the
gulf
in
standard
and
the
Indian’s
struggles.

Speaking
after
her
win,
Maria
said,
“Actually
I
am
very
happy
(to
win).
She
is
the
Indian
No.1
and
I
am
glad
to
have
beaten
her
as
she
had
the
crowd
behind
her.
I
only
tried
to
make
her
play
as
many
balls
as
possible.”

Maria
will
meet
Argentina’s
Nadia
Podoroska
for
a
spot
in
the
quarter-finals.
Riske-Amritraj
wasn’t
in
her
element
all
through
the
match
and
struggled
for
rhythm
and
while
serving.
Gasanova
ran
away
with
the
first
set
after
the
players
exchanged
breaks
early
in
the
match.

The
American,
who
has
risen
to
the
world
No.
23
from
29
following
a
last
16
appearance
at
the
US
Open
last
week,
could
not
justify
the
top
billing
given
to
her.
She
was
not
able
to
impose
her
game
on
her
23-year-old
opponent
from
Russia.

“I
didn’t
expect
to
win
like
this.
I
gave
it
my
all,”
Gasanova
said
after
the
match.
She
further
said,
“I
wanted
to
take
a
break
from
tennis
after
the
US
Open.
I
didn’t
get
a
visa
for
the
US
Open
last
year
and
was
looking
forward
to
it
this
year.
But
the
1st
round
loss
was
terrible
and
I
wanted
to
take
a
break.
But
then
I
saw
the
tournament
in
India
and
thought
why
not.”

Results-
Singles
(1st
round):

Anastasia
Gasanova
beat
Alison
Riske-Amritraj
(USA-X1)
6-2,
6-3;
Katie
Swan
(Britain)
beat
Arianne
Hartono
(the
Netherlands)
6-1,
6-2;
Nadia
Podoroska
beat
Kyoka
Okamura
(Japan)
6-4,
6-3;
Tatjana
Maria
(X4)
beat
Ankita
Raina
(India)
6-0,
6-1;
Oksana
Selekhmeteva
beat
Despina
Papamichail
(Greece)
6-3,
6-1;
Carol
Zhao
(Canda)
beat
Olivia
Tjandramulia
(Australia)
6-1,
6-1.

Source:
PTI