The country’s No. 1 woman tennis player Ankita Raina, ranked 177 in singles and 121 in doubles, is quite happy with her preparation for the Fed Cup Asia Oceania tournament in Dubai from March 3 to 7.
The 27-year-old Ankita, who won her second singles title of the season in the $25,000 ITF women’s tournament in Jodhpur on Sunday, was pleased with her ability to adapt to different conditions and opponents.
Double delight
“I am happy not only on winning the title, but because I could adapt to different conditions. Here the balls were light. I had played with heavy balls for the last six to seven weeks.
I was really happy that I could adapt immediately,” said Ankita, who did not drop a set on way to the title.
Ankita had planned to stick to singles and not compete in doubles, but “played for my friend Snehal Mane, so that she could get entry,” said Ankita, who had played five weeks at a stretch.
“I ended up playing the finals in doubles. So, it was a satisfying week. Will rest now and recover at home, before the Fed Cup,” said Ankita.
After making the semifinals in Australia in a similar tournament, Ankita had won the singles and doubles titles in the $25,000 event in Thailand.
Fed Cup captain Vishaal Uppal was equally pleased with Ankita’s form, apart from Rutuja Bhosale who won the doubles title in Jodhpur.
“Most of our players are taking this week off and will be fresh and ready for the Fed Cup,” said Vishaal.
The captain was concerned about the calf strain of Sania Mirza who returned to play the WTA event in Dubai after having retired midway through the first round of doubles at the Australian Open in Melbourne.
Workload distribution
With two teams qualifying for the World Group play-off stage from the Asia Oceania zone, Vishaal felt Sania could play a significant role in the doubles in helping the team progress in a strong field consisting of China, Chinese Taipei, Uzbekistan, Korea and Indonesia.
“It will be a lot of work, as we will play five teams on five days.
“We may have to be judicious in spreading the workload among the players,” said Vishaal.
