Chinese Guo Tames Indian Rival for Maiden ITF Title.
Hua Hin - Chinese Guo Hanyu won the all teenage final showdown over Indian Karman Kaur Thandi to lift up her first ITF trophy in the US$10,000 Thailand ITF Women's Pro Circuit Week 1 at True Arena on Saturday.
The 18-year-old Guo, with her consistent baseline game, spent one hour and 25 minutes to beat the tall Indian, also with the same age but one month younger, 6-3 6-3 for her maiden ITF crown and the winner’s cheque of US$1,440.
The pig-tailed girl whose previous final came in the September’s US$25,000 event in Guiyang managed an early break to go up 2-1 in the opening set played under overcast sky.
Thandi despite having a flat heavy forehand as a main weapon in her armory could not keep the ball in play when it came to long rallies. The Chinese then did not face much challenge especially on her serves as the set went on.
Facing a set point at 3-5, the Indian escaped from the hook with a brilliant forehand winner. But her resistance did not last as she sprayed a forehand wide to face the second set point before a backhand long on the next point cost her the 39-minute opener.
After a toilet break, Thandi enjoyed an early break from her opponent who produced two easy errors to drop the opening game of set No 2. But after a 3-1 lead, Thandi began to show some nerves and yielded easy points.
Guo who hails from Zheng Zhou punished weak second serve from the Indian with a brilliant forehand winner to break for three all.
With her concentration falling apart, Thandi served two doubles in the eight game to fall 3-5 behind. Her backhand narrowly missed the sideline which took Guo to match point at 40-30 in the next game. The Chinese wrapped it up by serving down to the T spot to force a return error from Thandi on championship point.
