Vaishnavi Adkar, Rutuja Bhosale make tennis history, become first Indian women’s pair to reach final at WTA Tour main level

India’s Vaishnavi Adkar and Rutuja Bhosale (PTI Photo/R Senthilkumar) India’s Vaishnavi Adkar and Rutuja Bhosale made history at the Chennai Open on Saturday, becoming the first all-Indian women’s pair to reach a doubles final at the main level of the WTA Tour. The pair beat Poland’s second seed Weronika Falkowska and Alan Smith of the USA 6-2, 2-6, 10-8 in a hard-fought semi-final.The Indian pair started strongly but lost their rhythm in the second set.However, they showed tremendous determination in the decisive supertie-break to seal a memorable victory in front of the home crowd.

A historic achievement for Indian tennis

No all-Indian women’s combination had previously reached the finals at the main level of the WTA Tour. While Shikha Uberoi and her sister Neha reached the final in 2005, Neha represented the USA at that time.Former Indian star Sania Mirza also enjoyed huge success in doubles, winning 43 titles, but never achieved these victories with an Indian partner.Ankita Raina and Karman Thandi won the WTA 125 doubles title in 2018, but the tournament is a level below the main Tour.Adkar and Bhosale will now face the Swiss pair of Naima Karamoko and Simona Waltert in the final. The Swiss duo booked their place after defeating Isabelle Haverlag and Panna Udvardy 6-4, 6-4.

How the Indians achieved victory

Adkar and Bhosale dominated the opening set and took a 4-1 lead by making the most of their opponents’ mistakes before winning 6-2.However, Falkowska and Smith bounced back in the second set, capitalizing on missed break opportunities and errors by the Indian pair to win 6-2 and force a decider.The super tie-break was just as exciting, the opponents opened up a 3-0 lead. The Indians fought back despite going 6-8 down, with Bhosale producing a decisive forehand winner before Adkar hit a winning volley to claim match point. She then sealed the match with a superb forehand down the line to complete the historic 10-8 win.Meanwhile, top seed and defending champion Janice Tjen defeated Robin Montgomery 6-3, 6-4 to enter the women’s singles final. Third seed Magda Linette also advanced after beating Anastasia Zakharova 2-6, 6-2, 6-3.