Chennai, Nov. 4 -- India's teenage sensation Maaya Rajeshwaran Revathi scripted a significant chapter in the country's tennis history on Wednesday, becoming the first Indian woman since Sania Mirza in 2012 to reach a WTA Tour-level singles quarterfinal.
The 17-year-old Maaya, ranked 669th in the world, produced a straight-set 6-4 6-3 win over Polish qualifier Weronika Falkowska, ranked 277th, in the second round of the Chennai Open, where no Indian managed to go beyond the second round in previous two editions.
The milestone is a significant one for Indian women's tennis, with Maaya ending almost a 15-year wait for an Indian to reach the last eight of a WTA Tour singles event since Sania achieved the feat back in February 2012 when she made the last-eight stage at Pattaya Open.
Maaya's breakthrough in Chennai is the latest step in a rapid rise on the professional circuit this season. She announced her arrival with a maiden W35 singles title in Lagos, Portugal, in October, winning the tournament as a qualifier without dropping a set.
She also claimed the doubles title, alongside Ukraine's Yelyzaveta Kotliar, making her the youngest Indian to win a professional singles title since Sania.
Maaya recently moved from the Rafa Nadal Academy in Spain to the Elite Tennis Center in southern France. Her victory was far from straightforward, though, with the match characterised by a succession of breaks, double faults and unforced errors from both players.
Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Millennium Post.