Shrivalli bhamidipatty

Mumbai Open WTA: A day after wildcard-entrant Sahaja Yamalapalli sent the top seed Kayla Day of USA crashing out of the tournament, Indian qualifier Shrivalli Bhamidipatty pulled off another stunning upset, defeating second seed Nao Hibino of Japan in the first round of the Mumbai Open WTA 125K Series Tennis Championships, at the Cricket Club of India (CCI) courts here on Tuesday.

Ranked No. 520 in the world and playing against a top 100 player for the first time, the 22-year-old Bhamidipaty recovered from the loss of the first set to oust the three-time WTA titlist Hibino 2-6, 6-1, 7-6 (5) in two hours and 17 minutes. The Indian, who won two matches in qualifying to reach the main draw, will take on 16-year-old Russian Alina Korneeva for a spot in the pre-quarterfinals.

Earlier in the day, Asian Games mixed doubles gold medallist Rutuja Bhosale scored a straight sets win over Thailand’s Peangtarn Plipuech 6-4, 7-5 to make it three Indians advancing to the second round of the biggest professional women’s tennis tournament in the country this year. Later, Indian No.1 Ankita Raina went down tamely to American eighth seed Katie Volynets in straight sets 6-4, 6-2.