Chakaravarthy, Dhawan in final

Second seed Rushmi Chakravarthy and fourth seed Shruthi Dhawan scored hard-fought victories to move into the final of the $10,000 ITF championship at the DLTA courts, Delhi, on Friday.

On a sunny day, Chakravarthy defeated promising Sania Mirza, who displayed a wonderful all-court game but lacked the final punch, 6-7 (7-1), 6-2 6-3, while Dhawan also overcame a first set lost to oust in-form Radhika Tulpule 3-6, 6-1, 7-6 (7-4) in semi-final matches.

Mirza displayed excellent technique while winning the first set via the tie-breaker. Chakravathy found it difficult to counter the fast-paced game of Mirza.

However, the unseeded Mirza, who had an impressive run in the tournament, lost momentum and surrendered meekly once her experienced opponent found her rhythm.

Riding on the momentum, Chakravarthy bagged the second set 6-2 and then proceded to take the decider effortlessly at 6-3.

The second semi-final was a thrilling affair as Dhawan staged a grand rally. In capturing the first set 6-3, Tulpule showed glimpses of the form which helped her win the Chennai leg of the ITF circuit last week.

But in the second set the Pune girl appeared distracted. Exploiting the lapse in concentration, Dhawan raced through for a 6-1 win.

In the final set both players fought neck and neck. In the tie-breaker, Dhawan held her nerve to wrap up the set and the match.