Ankita Raina stormed into the final of the USD 10,000 ITF Women's tennis tournament after scoring a convincing 6-3 6-1 win over compatriot Shweta Rana, here today.
It will be Ankita's the fifth consecutive final appearance in the a final and sixth in seven weeks. The 20-year-old tennis player had also reached the finals of the USD 25,000 ITF event in Karshi, Uzbekistan earlier this month.
The second seed will now take on the unseeded Eetee Maheta in the summit clash tomorrow.
Ankita, currently the highest ranked Indian in the world at 362, struggled in the first set as both players struggled to hold their serve.
In fact, it was Ankita who managed to hold serve for the first time in the eighth game and that turned out to be the only game where a player held her own as the she broke Shweta for the fifth consecutive time to pocket the set.
In the second set, Ankita was much more in control and raced to a 4-0 lead and then never looked back.
In the other semifinal, Eetee made a stunning comeback to get the better of Natasha Palha 1-6 7-5 6-2.
In the doubles final, India's Rishika Sunkara and Naomi Totka of Hungary, top seeds, captured the title after defeating local pair of Prarthana Thombare and Natasha Palha.
Prarthana and Natasha had staged a commendable comeback after losing the first set but lost 6-4 4-6 13-11 and had to settle for the runners-up spot.
