Unseeded Sowjanya Bavisetti beat the third-seeded Anastaasia Kharchenko of Ukraine 6-1, 7-6(1) in the final of the $10,000 ITF women’s tennis tournament in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt, on Sunday.
It was the maiden ITF women’s singles title for the 19-year-old Andhra girl, ranked an unflattering career-best rank of 881. However, she had already tasted success in the form of three doubles titles.
The talented left-hander had made the semifinals of a similar tournament in Egypt in June for her previous best result, and had been training and playing in Spain as well to strengthen her game.
After dropping a set against the fourth-seeded Susanne Celik of Sweden in the first round, Sowjanya did not drop another set on way to the title.
Very happy
“I am very happy to win my first title, that too abroad”, said Sowjanya, who had been enduring a series of first round exits in singles in recent weeks.
