NEW DELHI, December 1: Yet again, national champ Uzma Khan realised that academics and tennis make for a lousy cocktail. Few weeks away from competitive tennis told on her game as she lost out on a decent chance to make it to the pre-quarters of the Flash Sports $ 75000 ITF Women's Challenger at the Delhi Tennis Association courts here today.Uzma, given a wild card into the event, gave the World No 154 from Holland, Amanda Hopmans enough trouble, but just wasn't sharp enough to pull off the upset win today. The Indian lost 3-6. 6-7 (4).
Earlier, another young Indian, Shruti Dhawan, found the going too tough against Japanese Tomoe Hotta and went home in straight sets but not before picking up a WTA point that will see her name soon on the world rankings.
Wednesday promises more rivetting tennis when India's Sai Jayalakshmi and Manisha Malhotra step in for their pre-quarters, hoping to pull off upsets again, which, given their present form isn't too tough.
Also on offer is a Nirupama Vaidyanathan match against Carolina Jagienak of France, ranked No 221. Considering that Carolina had a good win today against a higher ranked Japanese, the match will not be such a breeze for the Indian.
Copyright © 1998 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.
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