Shrivalli Bhamidipaty stayed calm and stroked fiercely at the crunch as she survived two match points to beat Arthi Muniyan 2-6, 6-1, 7-5 in the first round of the $15,000 ITF women’s tennis tournament at the Tennis Project, Baliawas, on Tuesday.
Arthi played remarkably well, but from 4-2, 40-15 in the decider, she wavered a bit with the intensity of her strokes to let Shrivalli, who had won the national crown at the same venue last year, back into the match.
At 5-3 on her serve, Arthi had two match points, but erred with her strokes, even as Shrivalli fired on all cylinders, not worried about the result.
