
NEW DELHI, December 1: Yet again, national champ Uzma Khan realised that academics and tennis make for a lousy cocktail. Few weeks away from competitive tennis told on her game as she lost out on a decent chance to make it to the pre-quarters of the Flash Sports 75000 ITF Women8217;s Challenger at the Delhi Tennis Association courts here today.
Uzma, given a wild card into the event, gave the World No 154 from Holland, Amanda Hopmans enough trouble, but just wasn8217;t sharp enough to pull off the upset win today. The Indian lost 3-6. 6-7 4.
Earlier, another young Indian, Shruti Dhawan, found the going too tough against Japanese Tomoe Hotta and went home in straight sets but not before picking up a WTA point that will see her name soon on the world rankings.
Wednesday promises more rivetting tennis when India8217;s Sai Jayalakshmi and Manisha Malhotra step in for their pre-quarters, hoping to pull off upsets again, which, given their present form isn8217;t too tough.
Also on offer is a Nirupama Vaidyanathan match against Carolina Jagienak of France, ranked No 221. Considering that Carolina had a good win today against a higher ranked Japanese, the match will not be such a breeze for the Indian.