Nidhi ousted, Thombare stretched in Gulbarga tennis

Seventh seed Nidhi Chilumula bowed out of the women's singles first round as No.5 seed Prarthna Thombare was stretched by Shweta Rana before surging ahead in the Gulbarga ITF $10,000 Tennis Tournament here on Tuesday.

Chilumula was in her elements against her Thai opponent Tamachan Momkoonthod, hustling to claim the first set 6-2. But the Thai left-hander raised her game and began matching her opponent, trading serves to enforce the tie-breaker.

Nidhi was a clean four points clear but the Thai gave it all she had and clinched the tie-breaker to force the decider.

In the decider too, the opponents traded serves, both committing unforced errors to help the other stay in the game. At 5-all, Tamachan broke Nidhi and then served for the match, the contest lasting two hours and 26 minutes.

Thombare was expected to roll through her contest against Shweta Rana but a shock was in store for the fifth seed. Rana fought tooth and nail for every point, despite each being broken a couple of times. However, the situation got to Rana, who succumbed to hand over the first set.

The second set saw the tournament's fifth seed again being tested. The opponents slugged it out with mixed results but held on gamely to force the tie-breaker. Even there the players gave no quarter and asked for none. However, Thombare brought her experience into play to win the set and match.

Top seed Prerna Bhambri, second seed Natasha Pallah and No.6 seed Sharmadaa Baluu had little trouble in seeing off their first round opponents with ease.

Also, the Bidar $10,000 ITF women's event, which was scheduled to be held from November 23, has now been shifted here due to unavoidable circumstances. The qualifiers will be held on Saturday and Sunday.