Ankita Raina crashes out in Adelaide qualifiers; Bhambri set for tour return against Ebden
Raina was beaten in straight sets in the first round of qualifying at WTA 500 event in Adelaide
Ankita Raina was unable to carry her winning form in doubles to singles as she bowed out in the qualifiers of the Adelaide International tennis tournament.
She was defeated 1-6, 3-6 by Catherine McNally in the first round of qualifying at the WTA 500 event on Sunday.
USA's McNally made the most of her first serve and converted 17 of them in the first set. Raina had no answer to her aces and the 42nd ranked player in the world went on to save all three breakpoints.
McNally also converted three break points to run away with the first set 6-1.
In the second set, Raina started getting a foothold with her strong service but kept faltering on her returns. She broke her more illustrated opponent once but in the end, her opponent's quality was too hot to handle for her.
The Ahmedabad-born tennis player is currently ranked 181 in singles and is likely to break into the top-100 in doubles when the rankings are released on Monday.
On Friday, the 28-year-old, in the company of Russia’s Kamila Rakhimova, defeated Anna Blinkova and Anastasia Potapova 2-6, 6-4, 10-7 to win the Philip Island Trophy. The WTA 250 win which saw her become the first Indian woman since Sania Mirza to win a tour-level title.
On the men's tour, India's Rohan Bopanna and Yuki Bhambri are all set to start their campaign in the Singapore Tennis Open.
Bhambri will play Australia's Matthew Ebden in the first round of singles of the ATP 250 event. The match will mark Bhambri's return to the tour after a long hiatus. The Indian last played a competitive match in October 2018 and had been forced out since with a knee injury.
Although he is listed as 'inactive' on the ATP Tour, he will feature in the main draw, courtesy of his protected ranking of 127.
Bhambri has also made the doubles draw. Along with fellow Indian Jeevan Nedunchezhiyan, he will go up against the fourth-seeded Australian pair of John-Patrick Smith and Matthew Ebden in the opening round.
Meanwhile, Bopanna and his partner Ben McLachlan of Japan have been seeded second in the tournament. They will lock horns against Venezuelan tennis player Luis David Martinez and Spaniard David Vega Hernandez.
The Indian doubles ace is currently ranked 37 in the world while McLachlan stands at 48. Bopanna had teamed up with the Japanese at the Australian Open after his partner Joao Sousa pulled out after contracting Covid-19. The scratch pair went down 4-6, 5-7 to Ji-sung Nam and Min-Kyu Song in the first round of Australian Open.