Nirupama falls at the threshold

Shailesh Soni

Nirupama Vaidyanathan could not overcome her jinx of losing in the final round of a qualifying tournament. The 24-year-old Indian lass lost to Anca Barna of Germany 6-7(3-7), 2-6 in the final of the women's singles qualifiers at Wimbledon on Thursday and failed to make it to the main draw of the tournament.

In the first set, games went with serve and the tie-breaker had to be enforced. The German's consistency on the big points saw her outplay the Indian and take the set.

It was even easier for Barna in the second set as completely dominated the Indian. She broke Nirupama's serve twice in the first and third games, to lead 3-0. Nirupama tired her best to make a fight of the match but the German served out the set in eighth game to qualify for the main draw.

The lose was the ninth for the Indian in the qualifying finals. She has lost six times in the Grand Slams, twice in tour events and once in the Santa Clara Challenger.

Nirupama will now play in the doubles event, partnering Rika Hiraki of Japan. The Indo-Japanese pair will face Silvia Farina Elia of Italy and Iroda Tulyaganova of Uzbekistan in the first round.

Their potential second round opponents are top seeds Lisa Raymond of the United States and Rennae Stubbs of Australia. It's a very tough draw for the Indian. Nana Miyagi, with whom Nirupama paired at the French Open, is playing with Yayuk Basuki of Indonesia.

Earlier reports:
Nirupama in qualifying final
Paes, Nirupama in round 2