India bounced back in style in the Billie Jean King Cup Asia/Oceania Group I tie, registering a comprehensive 3-0 win over New Zealand on Wednesday, powered by confident performances from Vaishnavi Adkar and Sahaja Yamalapalli.
Coming off a 1-2 loss to Thailand in a rain-hit opener, India showed sharp improvement across all three matches against a New Zealand side missing their top player Lulu Sun.
Making her second appearance, Vaishnavi looked far more composed as she beat Aishi Das 6-2, 6-4 in one hour and 30 minutes to give India the lead.
She capitalised on Das’ inconsistency early, recovering from 15-40 to secure the first break and move 2-0 ahead. The Indian held firm in long deuce exchanges and extended her lead with another break in the fifth game.
Though Das managed to pull one break back, Vaishnavi responded immediately and closed out the opening set 6-2 with an ace.
The second set was tighter, with Das levelling at 4-4 after breaking back from 0-40 down. Vaishnavi, however, regained control at the right time, breaking again in the ninth game before serving out the match.
“It was my first match as a player in the Billie Jean King Cup, so I was definitely very nervous. I did not handle my nerves well. But that was a lesson learned for me,” Vaishnavi said.
“Coming on court today, I had to focus on what I do best. And all I had to do was go to court and give my best.”
Sahaja then sealed the tie with a dominant 6-1, 6-3 win over Valentina Ivanov in the second singles.
In a baseline-heavy contest, Sahaja dictated play with her forehand and movement. She broke early and raced through the opening set 6-1, before carrying the momentum into the second.
After building a 3-1 lead, Sahaja briefly lost serve in the seventh game but broke back immediately to move 5-3 ahead. She then closed out the match comfortably.
“I’m happy with the win. It was a tough match (against Thailand) to swallow. We expected a different result, we did what we could, we fought our heart out,” Sahaja said.
“I wasn’t happy with the strategies I executed (in first match) so I told myself to do that better to close out the matches. We need to fight for every point, support each other and see where it takes us.”
In the doubles, Rutuja Bhosale and Ankita Raina completed the sweep with a 6-4, 6-2 win over Erin Routliffe and Monique Barry.
The result marked a strong turnaround for India after a disappointing start against Thailand, where Vaishnavi had lost on debut and Sahaja went down narrowly in a three-set match to Patcharin.
India will look to build on the momentum as the Group I ties continue.
– Ends
