Ankita lifts second ITF singles title

Top seed Ankita Raina lived upto her billing and grabbed her second ITF women's singles title by defeating compatriot Natasha Palha 6-3 6-1 in the final of the USD 10,000 Samar Group ITF Women's Tennis tournament at the Madras Gymkhana club courts here today.
Ankita, who was keen to set the record straight after losing two consecutive finals in her last two tournaments, was hardly troubled by her training mate at the PYC Hindu Gymkhana in Pune and grabbed her second singles title and 12 ranking points.
Ankita reached the finals of two consecutive USD 10,000 ITF tournaments in Hyderabad last month, but had faltered at the finish line.

However, the world number 486 was determined to make it third time lucky and dominated the proceedings throughout.
"Today's title triumph is very important to me because I had faltered from good positions in the last two finals. But today, I did not let go my grip on the match and I am very happy that everything came together," said Ankita, who is likely to become the highest ranked Indian in the world ranking when the new ranking list would be announced.