Long rallies are the name of the game when Ankita Raina takes to a tennis court. And the 32-year-old India No. 1 stayed true to her character by dishing out another slow burner in her first-round outing at the KPB Trust Women’s Open here on Wednesday.Ankita relied on simple groundstrokes and keeping the ball in play to frustrate Russia’s Daria Kudashova and secure a 7-6(7/2), 7-6(7/4) win.The 21-year-old Kudashova was quick off the blocks to race away to a 5-2 lead in the opening set. However, the Indian got into the groove in the nick of time to level scores and force a tie-breaker. Serves that refused to listen to Kudashova made things worse for the Russian as Ankita capitalized on her opponent’s impatience to win the first set.While the momentum favored Ankita, the humidity at the Karnataka State Lawn Tennis Association troubled the players throughout the second set, with both struggling to hold serves.
