Bengaluru, Feb. 19 -- On a hard court that rewarded first-strike tennis and punished hesitation, Vaishnavi Adkar showed she has both the patience to absorb and the courage to attack.
In a match that swung on belief as much as ball-striking, the Indian rallied past eighth seed Mai Hontama 2-6, 6-4, 7-6 to book her maiden quarterfinal berth at a ITF W100 event here on Thursday.
The opening set belonged to Hontama. On the quick surface, she took time away from Vaishnavi, redirecting pace with crisp groundstrokes and stepping inside the baseline to control exchanges. The 6-2 scoreline reflected her command, as she dictated tempo and kept the Indian scrambling.
But hard courts reward clarity of intent, and Vaishnavi found hers.
In the second...