Qualifier Karman Kaur Thandi took out third-seeded Shweta Rana 6-3, 6-1 to become the only Indian to reach the singles semifinal of the $10,000 ITF women tournament at the Delhi Lawn Tennis Association (DLTA) complex on Thursday.
Karman, who has been doing well on the junior circuit, with her strong serve and power-packed groundstrokes made it a one-sided affair and Rana couldn’t live with her.
Karman’s power was too much for Shwetha as she lost the first set 6-3. Thoughts of a comeback for the third-seed girl were nipped in the bud as the dominant Karman broke again to take the set and the match.
The 16-year-old Delhi girl will now be up against Kim Dabin of Korea. Kim saw off a strong challenge from Indian Simran Kaur Sethi 6-4, 6-3 in an hour and 24 minutes.
Simran fought tooth and nail in both the sets but KIm won crucial points in both the sets to take the encounter.
In the other quarterfinal, wildcard Vaniya Dangwal began on a promising note to take the first set against sixth-seeded Katherine IP of Hong Kong.
But Katherine slowly raised the bar to get the hold of the match by the third set to win 6-4, 2-6, 0-2. The match lasted nearly three hours.
Katherine now faces Kanami Tsuji of Japan for a place in the final. Kanami accounted for another Indian Sai Samhitha Chamarthi 6-1, 6-3 to enter into the semifinals.
The Japanese had little trouble as Samhitha bowed down tamely. She lost the first set 6-1 and although she put up a better resistance in the second, she still lost 6-3.
Results:(Singles quarterfinals, Indians unless mentioned otherwise): 6-Katherine IP (Hkg) bt Vaniya Dangwal 4-6, 6-2, 6-0, Tsuji Kanami bt Sai Samhitha Chamarthi 6-1, 6-3, Karman Kaur Thandi bt 3-Shweta Rana 6-3, 6-1, Kim Dabin bt Simran Kaur Sethi 6-4, 6-3.