Prerna Bhambri shocks Ankita Raina in ITF tennis

National champion and sixth seeded Prerna Bhambri knocked out top seeded and world-ranked 298 Ankita Raina 4-6, 6-2, 6-3 to enter the semi-finals in the 10,000 Endurance MSLTA ITF Women's tennis tournament here Thursday.

In another upset, eighth seeded Nidhi Chilumula ousted No.3 Rishika Sunkara 6-3, 6-3 to also book a semi-final berth. Unseeded Sowjanya Bavisetti and second seed Prathana Thombare completed the line-up.

Bhambri, ranked 593, played attacking tennis in the second and the third sets to down Raina in a two-hour-15-minute match.

Raina led 3-1 in the first set, but Bhambri won the next three games for a 4-3 advantage. However, Raina broke back in the seventh and ninth games to win the first set 6-4.

Bhambri dominated the second set breaking Raina twice to win 6-2 and force the decider. The players went 3-all when Bhambri broke Raina and then held serve for 5-3. Another break of serve in the ninth saw Bhambri take the match.

The results (all quarter-finals):

Singles: 6-Prerna Bhambri bt 1-Ankita Raina 4-6, 6-2, 6-3; Sowjanya Bavisetti bt WC-Rutuja Bhosale 6-4, 7-5; 8-Nidhi Chilumula bt 3-Rishika Sunkara 6-3, 6-3; 2-Prarthana Thombare bt 7-Natasha Palha 6-2, 6-7 (4), 6-0.

Doubles: Sowjanya Bavisetti / Sharmada Balu bt Emi Mutaguchi / Chihiro Nunome 6-0, 6-0; Shweta Rana / Rishika Sunkara bt Akshara / Teertha Iska 6-4, 6-1; Rutuja Bhosale / Natasha Palha bt Saniya Madan / Preethi Ujjaini 6-2, 6-0; Ankita Raina / Prarthana Thombare bt Anushka Bhargava / Eetee Mehata 6-2, 7-5.