Bunyawi Advances in Pune ITF.
Teenage rising star Bunyawi Thamchaiwat fought back from the first set deficit to upset seventh seed Valeriya Strakhova of Ukraine 3-6 6-3 6-2 in the first round of the US$25,000 ITF Women’s Circuit in Pune on Monday.
The 18-year-old from Nakhonratchasima has been on a winning streak after winning her first ITF title in Hua Hin three weeks ago.
“She was playing so well in the first set. I had some problem returning her second serves and it took me awhile to get used to it. On this surface, her kick serves bounced quite high. I had to step in and hit the ball a bit earlier,” said Bunyawi.
“As the match went on the level of her game dropped. She began to make more errors and I seized that opportunity. I made fewer mistakes and didn’t take unnecessary risks from the backhand side,” added the 374 rd ranked player who had some minor back injury.
“I think I slept on a soft mattress. I almost decided to retire during the match but after a trainer gave me some spray, I felt better and tried to fight.”
The other Thai in action was Varunya Wongteanchai but she didn’t have the same luck of her compatriot. Varunya went down to Tereza Mrdeza of Croatia 6-4 6-4.
Tomorrow Nudnida Luangnam, a qualifier, will take on fifth seed Riko Sawayanagi of Japan in the opening round.
