Prerna knocked out in first round of ITF meet

Aurangabad: Eighth seeded Prerna Bhambri, India`s main hope, was dumped unceremoniously out of the Endurance-MSLTA USD 10,000 ITF women`s tennis championships on Monday by Germany`s Sarah-Rebecca Sekulic.

She went down tamely 4-6 2-6 in less than 90 minutes to enable the unseeded German a passage into round two along with three Indians - Adnya Naik, Shweta Rana and Kyra Shroff. Qualifier Adnya put out wild card Vaniya Dangwal 2-6 6-2 6-2, while Shweta Rana, who also came through the qualifying stage, outplayed the other Indian wild card - Natalla Khaniejo 6-0 6-2. In another all-India clash, Kyra scored an impressive 6-1 6-3 win over Sharmada Balu to make it to round two of the main draw of the tournament here in central Maharashtra. The results: Singles (1st round): Adnya Naik (IND) bt Vaniya Dangwal (IND) 2-6 6-2 6-2; Shweta Rana (IND) bt Natalla Khaniejo (IND) 6-0 6-2; Kyra Shroff (IND) bt Sharmada Balu (IND) 6-1 6-3; Stephanie Scimone (ITA) [7] bt Nidhi Chilumula (IND) 6-4 6-7(4) 6-4; Sarah-Rebecca Sekulic (GER) bt Prerna Bhambri (IND) [8] 6-4 6-2; Barbara Luz (POR) [4] bt Gopika Kapoor (IND) 7-5 7-5. PTI