Ankita upsets third seed to reach semis of USD 25000 ITF meet

Ankita Raina continued her dream run by beating third seed Nigina Abdurakhimova of Uzbekistan to reach the semifinals of the USD 25,000 ITF Women's tennis tournament in Karshi, Uzbekistan today.
The world 455, who had to qualify for the main draw, hammered Abdurakhimova 6-4, 7-6 (7/3) in the quarterfinals. She will now face the winner of the other quarterfinal between Ksenia Palkina of Kyrgystan and sixth seed Veronika Kapshay of Ukraine.
The 20-year-old, who trains at the PYC Gymkhana under Hemant Bendrey, made her intentions clear at the start of the match itself by matching the world number 250 Abdurakhimova stroke for stroke and carried that momentum through-out the match.

"My confidence levels were really good after yesterday's come from behind quarterfinal victory. Against Abdurakhimova, I was striking the ball well from the start and the pressure ultimately built on her as she was the local favourite," said Ankita from Karshi.
Despite the comfortable victory, Ankita isn't willing to look far ahead and wants to concentrate on playing her best tennis tomorrow.
"This is my first semifinals at this stage and I don't want to think about winning or losing. I want to give my best tomorrow and if I manage to do that, the result will come," she added.