Ching-Wen reigns supreme

The dream run of Ching-Wen Hsu, seeded fifth, culminated in a grand fashion as she shocked fancied second seed Fatma Al Nabhani in the singles final to clinch the Zuari Garden City Open, $10,000, ITF women’s tournament at the Karnataka State Lawn Tennis Association Stadium here on Saturday.

The 18-year old girl from Taipei registered a 6-4, 6-4 victory.

Having made a slow start throughout the tournament, Fatma once again began on a similar note to lag 1-4 behind in the first set.
Ching-Wen then lost her flow a bit as Fatma came back into the contest with two breaks to make the score 4-4.

With both the players fancying their chances to grab the first set, it was Ching-Wen, who gained back her composure to bag the first set 6-4 with a disciplined effort.  

As a proven fighter, an improved performance was expected from Fatma in the second set but it was Taipei player’s day as she broke Fatma in the fifth game and held her serve in the next game to go 4-2 up.

Poor service combined with many unforced errors marked Fatma’s game. Though the Omani player showed glimpses of brilliance to give hints of a comeback, Ching-Wen didn’t let the match slip away from her.

Armed with some brilliant two-handed back hand returns and a sharp first serve, Ching-Wen clinched the set and match 6-4.

Doubles glory

It was a perfect birthday gift for Bangalore girl Sharrmadaa Baluu as she bagged the doubles title partnering Prarthana Thombare.

The second seed pair overcame a second-set loss to prevail 6-4, 0-6, 10-6 over against Ching-Wen and Natasha Palha. 

The first set proved to be anybody’s game but the winners held their nerve to take it 6-4.  The second set was a walk-in-the-park affair for Natasha and Ching-Wen as they made a strong comeback to bag the set 6-0 to take the game into the decider.  In the third set Prarthana and Sharrmadaa ran up a 9-4 lead before winning it 10-6.

The winners in the singles and doubles category collected 12 WTA points while the runners-up in both sections earned seven points.


Results (All finals): Singles: 5-Ching-Wen Hsu bt 2-Fatma Al Nabhani 6-4, 6-4. Doubles: 2-Prarthana Thombare/ Sharrmadaa Baluu bt 3- Natasha Palha/ Ching-Wen Hsu 6-4, 0-6, 10-6.