Indian wildcards Maaya Rajeshwaran Revathi, 17, and Vaishnavi Adkar each came from the brink of defeat in a third set to win their first WTA 250 main-draw matches at the Chennai Open, beating eighth seed Katarzyna Kawa and Britain’s Jodie Burrage.
Chennai, India: Two Indian wildcards gave the Chennai Open its first big moments of the week, both winning in three sets after trailing late in the decider at the SDAT Tennis Stadium.
Maaya Rajeshwaran Revathi beats the eighth seed
The 17-year-old Maaya, ranked in the high 600s, beat Poland’s Katarzyna Kawa 6-4, 2-6, 7-6(5). Kawa is the eighth seed and ranked 115th in the world. Maaya won the opening set, lost the second 2-6 and then found herself in trouble in the decider, with Kawa moving ahead in the third set and getting close to serving it out. Maaya broke back, levelled at 5-5 and then took the tie-break 7-5 to claim her first WTA 250 main-draw win.
She will face Poland’s Weronika Falkowska in the second round. Falkowska, a qualifier, beat Linda Fruhvirtova 7-6(3), 6-4 in her opening match.
Vaishnavi Adkar outlasts Burrage
Vaishnavi Adkar, a 21-year-old from Pune, defeated Britain’s Jodie Burrage 3-6, 6-3, 7-5 in a match that lasted two hours and 46 minutes. Burrage won the first set before Adkar levelled. In the decider Burrage led 5-3 and served for the match, but Adkar broke back, levelled at 5-5 and held her nerve to win the last two games. It was also her first main-draw win at this level, and she entered the tournament as a wild card.
Her reward is a meeting with seventh seed Anastasia Zakharova of Russia, who beat Polina Iatcenko 7-6(3), 6-1.
The week ahead
The Chennai Open is a WTA 250 event that runs until 8 November. The start of the main draw was delayed by rain. A third Indian wildcard, Sahaja Yamalapalli, was drawn against Switzerland’s Simona Waltert in the first round. Her result was not confirmed at the time of writing.
Chennai Open (WTA 250), first round results
Maaya Rajeshwaran Revathi (WC) d. Katarzyna Kawa (8) 6-4, 2-6, 7-6(5)
Vaishnavi Adkar (WC) d. Jodie Burrage 3-6, 6-3, 7-5
