Somdev walks into semis, Ankita goes down fighting

Somdev Devvarman reached the singles semifinal of the ONGC-GAIL Delhi Open after Ze Zhang retired mid-way due to a shoulder injury even as Ankita Raina waged a brave fight before bowing out of the women's ITF event, here today.
Somdev had pocketed the first set 6-2 when Zhang's shoulder did not let him continue, sending Somdev into his third consecutive semifinal. He had also reached the semifinals of Chennai and Kolkata events.
In the women's singles quarterfinals, India's number one player Ankita Raina put up a spirited fight against third seed Yulia Beygelzimer from Ukraine as she saved three match points before losing 3-6 5-7 in two hours and five minutes on court number one.

Ankita did not lack in effort but had an experienced rival, currently ranked 180 but once world number 83, who was well attuned to play according to situation. Ankita played with lot of conviction but tried too hard and consequently made errors on crucial points.
Zhang's pulling out of the quarterfinal contest denied the fans the chance to see a good match as the Chinese, ranked 229, had a good game to counter the 96th ranked Indian.
Somdev had beaten Zhang in the Guangzhou Asian Games in 2010.

"It's unfortunate for Zhang, I felt he's a good player, one of the best in China. He's got a big forehand. But it's part and parcel of the game. I am happy to be through to the semis," Somdev said.

Reminded about his match with Zhang in 2010 in Guangzhou, Somdev said: "It was different atmosphere in China playing against a Chinese. It was a fun match, both of us have come a long way after that. I wish him best for the rest of the year."
In the 34-minutes contest that was possible, Somdev imposed himself on Zhang by not letting the Chinese play to his strength, a booming forehand. Somdev kept hitting the ball to a relatively weak backhand of Zhang and was rewarded for his ploy as he raced to a 5-0 lead with three breaks.
Immediately after the fifth game, Zhang needed medical timeout due to discomfort in his serving shoulder.