<p>Bengaluru: A daily dose of clean hitting and big servers are a few non-negotiable requirements to produce consistent results on a tennis court. Sahaja Yamalapalli, is well-aware of this demand and the need to apply it regularly to push herself to the next level. </p>.<p>And the 315-ranked Indian was presented with ideal challenge to prove her mettle when she faced the world No. 134 Maria Timofeeva in the second round of the KPB Trust Women’s Open here on Thursday. </p>.KPB Trust Women’s Open: Hard-fought wins for Ankita, Sahaja; top seeds through.<p>And Sahaja, in the two hours she was on court at the Karnataka State Lawn Tennis Association, put on her best game to produce both clean hitting and big serves to knock out the fourth-seeded Timofeeva in three sets 6-1, 3-6, 6-1 to enter the last-eight stage. </p>.<p>“I played some of my best tennis in terms of ground-strokes today,” pointed out the 24-year-old Sahaja. </p>.<p>“This is a big tournament and wins such as today’s makes me believe that I belong here. I'm over 300 in the world and have to constantly face players who are ranked much higher than me. So beating them gives me a lot of confidence.” </p>.<p>The Hyderabad-born professional began on an aggressive note where she rarely erred. Similar to her first round script, Sahaja lost her way in the second to allow her 21-year-old Russian draw even. Pulling herself back again, Sahaja began to move freely and injected more power into the shots that had Timofeeva on the back foot. </p>.<p>The Indian held all her serves while breaking her opponent twice in the third to close out with ease. </p>.<p>“I'm a completely different person in the third, especially when I’m totally focused. I start fresh and I get super pumped and give my everything. That helps me a lot,” analysed Sahaja about her domination in the third set for a second day in a row. </p>.<p>After briefly cheering for Sahaja, her counterpart Ankita Raina walked away from the gallery to walk into the centre court for her own second round game. The 32-year-old Indian who had a hard-fought win in the previous round, failed to bring her A game to the court and was tamed by top-seeded Tatjana Maria. </p>.<p>Facing each other for the third time, the 37-year-old German, ranked 90 in the world, executed her game plan expertly for a 6-1, 6-3 victory. </p>.<p>In a battle of slow-paced play, a barrage of slices dictated most of the points that Maria ended up getting the better of before she wrapped up the contest in an hour and 24 minutes. </p>.<p>In the other end of the draw, second-seeded Rebecca Marino of Canada comfortably made her way to the quarterfinal by defeating Maria Kozyreva of Russia in straight sets 6-2, 7-5. </p>.<p class="ListBody"><strong>Results (prefix denotes seeding): Singles (round 2):</strong> Sahaja Yamalapalli (Ind) bt 4-Maria Timofeeva (Rus) 6-1, 3-6, 6-1; 1-Tatjana Maria (Ger) bt Ankita Raina (Ind) 6-1, 6-3; Sara Bejlek (Cze) bt Kathinka von Deichmann (Lie) 6-4, 4-6, 6-3; Lanlana Tararudee (Tha) bt Iryna Shymanovich (Blr) 6-0, retd; Dalila Jakupovic bt 5-Alexandra Eala (Phi) 6-4, 6-4; 2-Rebecca Marino (Can) bt Maria Kozyreva (Rus) 6-2, 7-5; Linda Fruhvirtova (Cze) bt 3-Darja Semenistaja (Lat) 3-6, 6-2, 6-3; 7-Leolia Jeanjean (Fra) bt Panna Udvardy (Hun) 6-4, 6-4.</p>.<p class="ListBody"><strong>Doubles (quarterfinal): </strong>Lina Glushok (Isr)/ Anastasia Tikhonova (Rus) bt Ines Ibbou (Alg)/ Naima Karamoko (Sui) 3-6, 6-3, 10-8; 4-Jessie Aney/ Jessica Failla (US) w/o Brenda Fruhvirtova/ Linda Fruhvirtova (Cze); Prarthana G Thombare (Ind)/ Alicia Barnett (GBR) bt 3-Dalila Jakupovic (Slo)/ Laura Pigossi (Bra) 3-6, 6-3, 10-2. </p>
<p>Bengaluru: A daily dose of clean hitting and big servers are a few non-negotiable requirements to produce consistent results on a tennis court. Sahaja Yamalapalli, is well-aware of this demand and the need to apply it regularly to push herself to the next level. </p>.<p>And the 315-ranked Indian was presented with ideal challenge to prove her mettle when she faced the world No. 134 Maria Timofeeva in the second round of the KPB Trust Women’s Open here on Thursday. </p>.KPB Trust Women’s Open: Hard-fought wins for Ankita, Sahaja; top seeds through.<p>And Sahaja, in the two hours she was on court at the Karnataka State Lawn Tennis Association, put on her best game to produce both clean hitting and big serves to knock out the fourth-seeded Timofeeva in three sets 6-1, 3-6, 6-1 to enter the last-eight stage. </p>.<p>“I played some of my best tennis in terms of ground-strokes today,” pointed out the 24-year-old Sahaja. </p>.<p>“This is a big tournament and wins such as today’s makes me believe that I belong here. I'm over 300 in the world and have to constantly face players who are ranked much higher than me. So beating them gives me a lot of confidence.” </p>.<p>The Hyderabad-born professional began on an aggressive note where she rarely erred. Similar to her first round script, Sahaja lost her way in the second to allow her 21-year-old Russian draw even. Pulling herself back again, Sahaja began to move freely and injected more power into the shots that had Timofeeva on the back foot. </p>.<p>The Indian held all her serves while breaking her opponent twice in the third to close out with ease. </p>.<p>“I'm a completely different person in the third, especially when I’m totally focused. I start fresh and I get super pumped and give my everything. That helps me a lot,” analysed Sahaja about her domination in the third set for a second day in a row. </p>.<p>After briefly cheering for Sahaja, her counterpart Ankita Raina walked away from the gallery to walk into the centre court for her own second round game. The 32-year-old Indian who had a hard-fought win in the previous round, failed to bring her A game to the court and was tamed by top-seeded Tatjana Maria. </p>.<p>Facing each other for the third time, the 37-year-old German, ranked 90 in the world, executed her game plan expertly for a 6-1, 6-3 victory. </p>.<p>In a battle of slow-paced play, a barrage of slices dictated most of the points that Maria ended up getting the better of before she wrapped up the contest in an hour and 24 minutes. </p>.<p>In the other end of the draw, second-seeded Rebecca Marino of Canada comfortably made her way to the quarterfinal by defeating Maria Kozyreva of Russia in straight sets 6-2, 7-5. </p>.<p class="ListBody"><strong>Results (prefix denotes seeding): Singles (round 2):</strong> Sahaja Yamalapalli (Ind) bt 4-Maria Timofeeva (Rus) 6-1, 3-6, 6-1; 1-Tatjana Maria (Ger) bt Ankita Raina (Ind) 6-1, 6-3; Sara Bejlek (Cze) bt Kathinka von Deichmann (Lie) 6-4, 4-6, 6-3; Lanlana Tararudee (Tha) bt Iryna Shymanovich (Blr) 6-0, retd; Dalila Jakupovic bt 5-Alexandra Eala (Phi) 6-4, 6-4; 2-Rebecca Marino (Can) bt Maria Kozyreva (Rus) 6-2, 7-5; Linda Fruhvirtova (Cze) bt 3-Darja Semenistaja (Lat) 3-6, 6-2, 6-3; 7-Leolia Jeanjean (Fra) bt Panna Udvardy (Hun) 6-4, 6-4.</p>.<p class="ListBody"><strong>Doubles (quarterfinal): </strong>Lina Glushok (Isr)/ Anastasia Tikhonova (Rus) bt Ines Ibbou (Alg)/ Naima Karamoko (Sui) 3-6, 6-3, 10-8; 4-Jessie Aney/ Jessica Failla (US) w/o Brenda Fruhvirtova/ Linda Fruhvirtova (Cze); Prarthana G Thombare (Ind)/ Alicia Barnett (GBR) bt 3-Dalila Jakupovic (Slo)/ Laura Pigossi (Bra) 3-6, 6-3, 10-2. </p>