It was a trial by fire for the Indian players in both the singles and doubles categories at the IWTC-2023 ITF World Tennis Tour $40000 Tournament (Shri Ganesh Naik Initiative) that is being organized by the Navi Mumbai Sports Association (NMSA) in association with Maharashtra State Lawn tennis Association (MSLTA) under the auspices of the ITF , AITA  and to be played at the Ganesh Naik Tennis Complex in Vashi on Thursday.

As luck would have it, all of them were ousted from the 10^th edition of the tourney, some in a one sided contests, while the others faltered at crucial junctures in the face of stiff opposition.

In the singles second round match top seeded Ekaterina Makarova of Russia ended the challenge of last editions semi-finalist and ex national champion Vaidehi Chaudhari 6-2, 6-1.

Naho Sato of Japan toppled eighth seeded & ITF Solapur leg winner Sahaja Yamalapalli  6-2, 6-4 ensuring that the Indian challenge ended in singles and the jinx of Indian player never winning a singles title since its inception a decade ago

In other upsets in Daria Kudashova upset third seeded Lithuanian Justina Mikulskyte    6-2, 1-6, 6-1 while regular to India, Ekaterina Yashina from Russia rallied out fourth seeded Sapfo Sakellaridi  of Greece  6-4, 2-6, 7-5.

In the  Doubles Quarterfinal Round unseeded Japanese pair of  Funa Kozaki and Misaki Matsuda  upset Indian third seeds Rutuja Bhosale and Prarthana Thombare  7-6(1), 6-2.

At level where margin of errors have to be minuscule and the need for agility and resilience is the need of the hour, Kamilla Bartone of Lithuania and Russian Ekaterina Makarova raised their game when it matter the most as they edged out Shrivalli Rashmikaa Bhamidipaty  and Vaidehi Chaudhari  6-2, 3-6, 10-5 in a close encounter. 

Second seeds Diana Marcinkevica and Sapfo Sakellaridi on the other hand came back from loss of first set to get past the Indian / Russian duo of Zeel Desai and Ksenia Zaytseva 4-6, 7-6(3), 12-10, despite the latter had a chance to record a shock upset in the second set itself after leading 5-3 at one stage and latter when on 9-8 in the third set super tie break. The win for the experienced Latvia / Greece pair ended the Indian challenge in the doubles under fading lights.

Results (Main Draw)  

Singles Second Round: 1) Ekaterina Makarova (RUS) bt Vaidehi Chaudhari (IND) 6-2, 6-1; Saki Imamura (JPN) bt  Zhibek Kulambayeva (KAZ) 6-2, 6-1; Daria Kudashova (RUS) bt 3) Justina Mikulskyte (LTU) 6-2, 1-6, 6-1; 6) Diana Marcinkevica (LAT) bt Funa Kozaki (JPN) 6-4, 7-5; Misaki Matsuda (JPN) bt (Q) Akiko Omae (JPN) 6-0, 6-0; Ekaterina Yashina (RUS) bt 4) Sapfo Sakellaridi (GRE) 6-4, 2-6, 7-5; Naho Sato (JPN) bt 8) Sahaja Yamalapalli 6-2, 6-4;  2) Moyuka Uchijima (JPN) bt Ekaterina Maklakova (RUS) 5-7, 6-1, 6-3;.

Doubles 

First Round:Shrivalli Rashmikaa Bhamidipaty (IND) /Vaidehi Chaudhari (IND) bt 1) Zhibek Kulambayeva (KAZ) / Justina Mikulskyte (LTU) 7-6(5), 6-2; 4) Kamilla Bartone (LAT) / Ekaterina Makarova (RUS) bt (WC) Snehal Mane (IND) / Madhurima Sawant (IND) 6-2, 6-0; Hiromi Abe (JPN) /Saki Imamura (JPN) bt Ekaterina Maklakova /Ekaterina Yashina (RUS) 6-4, 3-6, 10-5; Beatrice Gumulya (INA) /Akiko Omae (JPN) bt Vaishnavi Adkar (IND) / Sahaja Yamalapalli (IND) 6-1, 2-6, 14-12; Funa Kozaki (JPN) / Misaki Matsuda (JPN) bt Humera Baharmus (IND) / Soha Sadiq (IND) 6-2, 6-1; 3) Rutuja Bhosale (IND) / Prarthana Thombare (IND) bt (WC) Ekaterina Kazionova (RUS) / Akanksha Nitture (IND) 6-1, 6-3; Zeel Desai (IND) / Ksenia Zaytseva (RUS) bt Nanari Katsumi (JPN) / Honoka Kobayashi (JPN) 6-1, 4-6, [10-2]; 2) Diana Marcinkevica (LAT) / Sapfo Sakellaridi (GRE) bt Kundali Majgaine (IND) / Saumya Vig (IND) 6-1, 6-2

Quarter Finals:4) Kamilla Bartone (LAT) / Ekaterina Makarova (RUS) bt Shrivalli Rashmikaa Bhamidipaty (IND) /Vaidehi Chaudhari (IND) 6-2, 3-6, 10-5; Hiromi Abe (JPN) / Saki Imamura (JPN) bt Beatrice Gumulya (INA) /Akiko Omae (JPN)  6-3, 6-2;  Funa Kozaki (JPN) / Misaki Matsuda (JPN) bt 3) Rutuja Bhosale (IND) / Prarthana Thombare (IND) 7-6(1), 6-2; 2) Diana Marcinkevica (LAT) / Sapfo Sakellaridi (GRE) bt Zeel Desai (IND) / Ksenia Zaytseva (RUS) 4-6, 7-6(3), 12-10.