India concede quarters berth

Though the start of the day looked extremely promising with Reddy allowing Nahathai Khuntaket to hold serve in only one game – she went on to take the set 6-1,the second set was a string of games where the two players broke their opponent only to get broken back in the next game.

However the Thai played the crucial points with immense concentration and didn’t crack even when she was down. A double fault at game point by Sneha gave the Thai her first break to go 3-2 up in the second. Though she held serve for 4-2,Sneha also held serve and broke Khuntaket to win the next two games to equalise for 4-4.

The reverse break of serves continued till 5-5,after which the two held for 6-6. But in the tiebreak it never looked that Sneha had a chance to win the match in straight sets as Khuntaket was quickly at matchpoint.

Though Sneha managed to save four set points but a backhand in the net on the fifth took the match to the decider.

Her backhand remained to be the weak link in the third where she got broken in the 10th game,allowing Khuntaket to serve out the match 1-6 7-6 (8) 6-4 after a grueling three-hour encounter.

The second singles by Tahira came as a relief for India as she won her match 6-3 6-3 against Kamonwan Buayam in a little over an hour.

Despite naming Jasmine Kaur Bajaj for the doubles along with Tahira,captain Shalini Thakur’s decision of playing Sneha after the 14-year-old had already played a three-hour match was a questionable one.

But Sneha showed great maturity and craft as she served out a love game to take the first set.

Even in the second set,as Tahira was broken twice,the only game India held was on Sneha’s serve but the Thailand girls co-ordination,their pass shots and smash winners overwhelmed the Indians into a 6-1 loss in the second.

After 1-1 in the third set,the third game on Sneha’s serve was a marathon one lasting six deuce but another shot in the net by Sneha saw the Thais break for 2-1. Though the tough game didn’t cause a dip in the hosts’ motivation,it definitely made their opponents more aggressive. And they again broke Tahira’s serve for 3-2. Though India stretched themselves till 4-4,Tahira again got broken in the crucial ninth game. Khuntaket easily served out the match 4-6 6-1 6-4 with Sneha’s backhand in the net at matchpoint.

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