Mai advances into third round of Wimbledon
Sixteen-year-old Mai Napatt Nirundorn settled a score with 12th seeded South Korean Sohyun Park 6-3 3-6 6-3 to advance into the third round of the junior Wimbledon on Tuesday.
The daughter of former national player Pimpisamai Kansuthi, she relied on her solid defence and mixed up her shots to tackle the powerful groundstrokes of her opponent. She prevailed in one hour and 48 minutes, avenging her 3-6 2-6 loss to Sohyun, the world No 19 in the junior rankings, in Roehampton last week.
Appearing in her first Major, Mai is the last Thai hope left in the tournament. Earlier ninth-seeded and Thai No 1 junior Mananchaya Sawangkaew was beaten by American Elizabeth Mandlik 7-6 (7-2) 5-7 9-11 while Tossaporn Naklo was sent packing by third-seeded Chinese player Qinwen Zheng 0-2 0-6.
In today’s third round actions, Mai, who is currently No 66 in the world rankings, is to play the 35th-ranked Elsa Jacquemot of France on court No 5 starting at 6.30pm. Jacquemot beat Oksana Selekhmeteva of Russia 7-5 6-1 in the previous round.
Meanwhile, Mai’s mother Pimpisamai says modelling agency MiLK management London has shown interest in the Thai teenager. However, her family is still considering the approach, noting that Mai’s priority remains tennis.
