Top seed and national champion Riya Bhatia staved off a late resistance from compatriot Vasavi Ganesan to move to the second round of the singles event at the USD 10,000 ITF women's event, here today.
The 19-year-old Delhi girl dispatched her unseeded opponent 6-0 7-5 in the opening round at Balewadi Sport Complex.
While she had Vasavi gasping in the opening set, the Chennai girl fought her way back in the match with some fearless strokemaking.
With Vasavi striking the ball well in the second set, Riya faced two breakpoints in the ninth game but managed to save both to make it 5-5 and served out the match in the 12th.
That was the only time in the match when Riya was out under pressure.
"It was an easy first set but she hit the ball well in the second," Riya, who trains in an academy in Germany, said.
Riya said winning her maiden singles title in Sharm-El Sheikh in September boosted her confidence for the Nationals.
"I have actually exceeded my own expectations. I never thought that I will win a singles title and then also the national championship. That title gave me a lot of confidence," she said but lamented that lack of sponsors has made the travelling very expensive for her.
It was an easy day for seeded players as fourth seed Prarthana Thombare, sixth seed Pranjala Yadlapalli and seventh Rishika Sunkara all, sailed into the next round without fuss.
Prarthana, who played the Rio Olympics with Sania Mirza, lost just one game in her match against Prakriti Banwani.
Pranjala knocked out Malaysian qualifier Theiviya Selvarajoo 6-4 6-4 and Rishika got past Isha Budwal 6-2 6-2.
Also advancing to the second round was left-handed Sowjanya Bavisetti, who beat Kaavya Balasubramanian 6-2 6-2.
Shweta Rana was challenged well by Pareen Shivekar before she pulled off a 6-2 4-6 6-1 win.
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