Maaya’s WTA Chennai Open run ends in quarters

Mumbai: Maaya Rajeshwaran Revathi's fine singles run at the WTA 250 Chennai Open ended in the quarter-finals, where American Robin Montgomery defeated the Indian wildcard 6-3, 6-3 on Friday.

The left-handed Montgomery, who broke into the top 100 last year and is currently ranked 151st, started the contest a bit slowly but soon found her rhythm to sweep past her 17-year-old opponent who is ranked 669th in the world.

Despite the defeat, Maaya will exit the home tournament with some firsts, and plenty of added belief. By making the quarter-finals going past two higher-ranked opponents – 115th-ranked Katarzyna Kawa and world No.277 Weronika Falkowska – Maaya became the first Indian female since the legendary Sania Mirza to reach a WTA 250 level quarter-final in singles.

Only one other Indian woman, Shikha Uberoi in Kolkata in 2005, had reached this far at a WTA 250 event since the format's introduction in 1990.

The week will also make a significant shift to her rankings. At 669 currently, Maaya is set to rise to a new career-high and jump around 180 spots when the updated rankings are published on Monday.

Battle-hardened with a couple of late-night finishes and creditable victories over higher-ranked opponents, Maaya began the quarter-final showing the same kind of confidence against an opponent who has made the second round at the French Open and Wimbledon.

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Maaya's first point, which she capped off with an approaching smash at the net, set the tone for her to get the first break in the opening set. Her work-in-progress serve, though, could not quite ride the momentum, with Montgomery not only breaking back immediately but also surging ahead in the first set.

The 22-year-old's tricky lefty serve, especially out wide, caused problems for Maaya. The Indian's serves – she littered five double faults – did not help either as the American continued to find the breaks. Soon, despite Maaya firing more winners in the contest, Montgomery came out the winner. The 2019 Orange Bowl champion, though, was left impressed with what she saw across the net.

"I think she has a very, very bright future ahead," Montgomery said of Maaya in her on-court interview.

The Chennai run extended Maaya’s good form of late. Having moved from the Rafa Nadal Academy to the Elite Tennis Centre in Cannes, the teen won her first professional title last month, an ITF W35 event in Lagos. Maaya will look to finish the season on a high and rise further in the rankings.