Nudnida, Miyamura to clash for title

Chennai, Apr 7: Even as fifth seed Nudnida Lungnam of Thailand became the only seeded player to survive into the final with an easy 6-3, 6-0 win in the semi-finals, Japan's Miki Miyamura dashed the hopes of Korean Jeong-A Cho to be in line for a double, edging her out 6-4, 4-6, 6-1 to set up a title clash with the Thai in the 10,000 dollar prize money ITF women's tennis championships on the Gymkhana hard courts here today.

Jeong A Cho, who ended the Indian challenge yesterday in the quarters, upsetting second-seed Rushmi Chakravarthy, made it to the doubles final. But in the two hour and six minutes second semi-final, she caved in, after putting up a brave front to win the second, after losing the first to Miki Miyamura. Miki found her touch again, after succumbing to pressure in the second.

Cho also committed too many errors in the first in which Miyamura broke her in the fourth, eighth and the tenth games. In fact it was Cho who had a good start, breaking Miyamura in the very first game of the match. But Miya's better range of shots saw her through. Cho could break her again just one more time in the seventh game. Miyamura pulled the rug from under her feat after Chao stole a 4-3 lead.

In the second game, Cho kept herself in the contest to come back, despite trailing 1-3. While Miyamura broke her in the second and fourth games, Cho broke her opponent in the first, seventh and the ninth games to draw level (1-1) on set score, even as the battle was hotting up along with the rising temperature.

However, Cho could not minimise her errors and allowed Miyamura to sweep her off the courts in the decisive third set in which Miya drawing level 1-1, breaking Cho, won the next five games in a row.

She broke Cho in the second, fourth and sixth games, on her way to the final.

Earlier, the first semi final turned out to be a damp squib with the powerful hitting Natasha Khan of Great Britain, not possessing the guile to take on fifth-seeded Thai Nudnida Luangnam, who conceded just three games in the 58 minute contest. Natasha, in fact, was off to an auspicious start, breaking the Thai in the very first game and held serve to lead 2-0. But that was her swan song in the match.

Luangnam took control of the match. Holding serve in the third game, she levelled 2-2, breaking Natasha. She was up 3-2, holding serve and broke Natasha again for a 4-2 lead. Holding serve, Luangnam was up 5-2. Natasha managed to take the seven game on her serve (3-5). But the Thai took the first set on her serve.

The Brit threw in the towel in the second set, as it were. After breaking Natasha in the first, Luangnam led throghout. She broke Natasha again in the third and fifth games, before shutting out the contest on her serve.

Results(Singles- Semi Finals) Nudnida Luangnam (Thailand) bt Natasha Khan(Great Britain) 6-3, 6-0 Miki Miyamura (Japan) bt Jeong-A Cho 6-4, 4-6, 6-1.

UNI