Ankita Raina loses Karshi ITF Futures final after giant-kiling run

India’s top-ranked women’s singles player Ankita Raina’s valiant run in the $25,000 ITF Futures in Karshi, Uzbekistan came to a disappointing end when she lost to local girl Sabina Sharipova in straight sets 3-6, 3-6 in a lop-sided final match.

The 455^th ranked Indian girl failed to be at her best against Sabina, handing her opponent a facile title win. Sabina started strongly, breaking Ankita’s serve in the opening set to pave the way for a 6-3 first set.

The first set defeat took the wind out of Ankita’s sails as she committed a slew of unforced errors and struggled to stay competitive. Her serves let her down even as her Uzbek opponent was going all guns blazing with her serves and service returns.

She breached the Indian’s serve in the second set to close it out at 6-3 for a relatively dominating championship crown.

The national grasscourt champion had a giant-killing run in the Karshi tournament, toppling as many as three seeded players en route to the final.

Ankita rallied from a set down to outlast sixth seed Veronika Kapshay 0-6, 7-6(1), 6-4 in the semifinals.

The Gujarat girl, who is now based in Pune, created a huge upset in the quarterfinals when she shocked third seed Nigina Abduraimova of Uzbekistan in straight sets 6-4, 7-6(2).

Ankita’s fighting qualities came to the fore in her second round match as well as she clawed her way from a set down to show the championship exit door to fifth seed Teodora Mircic of Serbia 1-6, 6-1, 6-3.

She earlier disposed of Russian Daria Mironova 7-5, 6-1 in the first round.

It may be worth recalling that Ankita had finished runners-up in the recent Lucknow futures when in an indisposed state, she lost the final to Japan’s Emi Mutaguchi in three sets 6-3, 6-7, 1-6 at the Oudh Gymkhana Club Tennis Complex.

The Lucknow event was her fourth consecutive ITF Futures final.

A week back she had clinched the Chennai ITF Futures crown.

Earlier, Ankita had finished as a runner-up in the two ITF Futures tourneys in Hyderabad last March.

Ankita only a few weeks back displaced Rishika Sunkara as the country’s top-ranked women’s singles player. Rishika is currently sixteen spots behind Ankita at 471st.

Ankia now looks poised to break into the 450- bracket with her superb showing in Karshi when the latest WTA rankings are announced.