Noppawan and Bunyawi Into Quarter-finals
Former junior world No 1 Noppawan Letcheewakarn and rising star Bunyawi Thamchaiwat kept the Thai flag flying high in the US$25,000 Thailand ITF Pro Circuit following their second round victories at the LTAT National Tennis Development Centre yesterday.
Noppawan who won the junior Wimbledon title in 2009 employed her attacking double fisted groundstrokes to upset sixth seed Hsu Ching-wen of Taiwan 6-3 6-1 in 66 minutes while Bunyawi also scored a stunning win by knocking out fourth seeded Zhang Li of Hong Kong 6-4 6-4.
Noppawan, now 24, successfully staged a revenge over the 358 th ranked Hsu who beat her 6-2 6-4 in a US$15,000 ITF series at Rama Garden Courts last year.
“I stuck to my game plan by taking the initiative and did not give her easy points. I was hitting the ball very well today , compared to the last time I lost to her last year. Then I was no where near my best,” said Noppawan in her only 11 th tournament this year. The Chiang Mai born just started her season in March after working on her fitness and rehabilitation for a knee injury.
“It took several months to work on your fitness program. I didn’t want to rush as things like this took time. Now I’m injury free and can compete without any worries,” said Noppawan who will set a rematch with Bunyawi who beat her in three sets in an ITF Circuit last November.
“She is up-and-coming player who has nothing to lose. But I’m playing better than last time and I’m quite confident with my game. I hope to make a difference this time,” Noppawan said.
Teenage Bunyawi managed late breaks in each set to win her second round match in one hour and 49 minutes.
“I saw her play in the first round and realized she had the game that I like. We both took risks and the one who gave short balls first would be punished. As for the match against Noppawan, it will be tough this time as she is playing well now. I hope to keep my momentum going to the match and make it again,” said the 18-year-old Bunyawi.’
In the other second round actions, Japanese second seed Akiko Omae beat Indonesian Beatrice Gumulya 6-3 7-5 while her compatriot Shiho Akita, seeded eighth, took the first set 6-3 from Miyabi Inoue before the latter retired with right foot injury.
Russian Marta Paigina upset fifth seed Choi Ji-hee of South Korea 6-1 6-2. But the biggest shock of the day was made by Singapore’s Stefanie Tan who ousted third seed Kamila Kerimbayeva of Kazakhstan 3-6 7-5 (7-5) 6-4. Top seed Yana Sizikova of Russia easily trounced Michika Ozeki of Japan 6-1 6-1.
