Ankita Bhambri and Isha Lakhani wiped off three weeks of bitterness to set up a mouth-watering title clash in the $5000 ITF Masters women's tennis tournament in Delhi on Thursday.
Ankita walloped top seed Liza Pereira 6-2, 6-0 while second seed Isha fought her way past Shruti Dhawan 3-6, 6-3, 6-2 in the singles semi-finals at the DLTA courts.
The doubles final between Shruti Dhawan-Sheetal Goutham and Liza Pereira-Isha Lakhani will be played later in the evening.
Bhambri and Lakhani had played decent tennis but lost their way at crucial moments in the weeks leading to the Masters. But hunger is always a strong driving force and the two teenagers showed the desire to score convincing victories.
Bhambri had lost to Pereira in the second leg final on the same courts. Her worst was yet to come in the third week when she lost in the second round to Archana Venkataraman, who she had beaten 6-1, 6-1 in their previous meeting.
But mental toughness is Bhambri's strength. The Delhi girl went back to the drawing board, and having done her homework, showed Pereira her place.
"I knew where my game was. In the second final I had played to her strengths, that is why I had lost," she said.
Today, Bhambri was calm and composed. She broke Pereira in the very first game and never looked back from there.
Also, the month-long grind seemed to be taking its toll on Pereira. She moved reluctantly on the court, and missed on the easiest of volleys. Neither could she convert a couple of 30-40 and advantage situations that came her way.
The story was not very different in the other semi-final.
Bhawan was up a set but could not hold on to the advantage. Lakhani played with more determination. She got her first serves going and that helped her attack the net confidently at crucial points.
Once the match entered the decider, Dhawan disintegrated into a muddle of errors and quickly conceded the match.
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