Supriya Zende came back from a set down to oust Maharashtra state rival Sharmeen Rizvi and enter the singles second round in the Rs 1.5 lakh prize money Khar Gymkhana All India ranking women's tennis tournament today.
Supriya, who entered the main draw as a lucky loser and is ranked 127, downed 110-ranked Sharmeen in a match that went on for almost 2 hours with a 1-6 6-4 6-1 scoreline.
The winner meets another Maharashtra girl Pareen Shivekar next for a place in the quarters. Pareen was leading 1-0 against 5th seed Krishnali Bhonsle when the latter conceded the match.
Qualifier Asha Nandkumar of Karnataka, ranked 127, did not lose a single game and dominated the match throughout against her state rival and luckly loser Priyanka Mariyappa to score a convincing win in under an hour in another first round match.
In another first round match featuring two Maharashtra players, Tanasha Khandpur defeated Dakshata Patel 6-2 6-3 while second seed Jeni Patel from Gujarat crushed Karnataka's Nupur Umashankar 6-1 6-0 in another totally one-sided first round encounter.
