Rushmi Chakravarti justifies
wild card

National champion Rushmi Chakravarti justified her wild card entry, as she ousted much higher ranked Helen Crook of Britain 6-3, 4-6, 6-3 to move into the next round even as two seeded players fell by the way side on the opening day of the US $25,000 ITF women's circuit tennis tournament in Delhi on Monday.

Unseed Camila Kremer of Germany upset sixth seed Anne Keothavong of Britain 6-4, 2-6, 7-5, while France's Elodie Lebescond humbled seventh seed Shelley Stephen of New Zealand in straight sets.

In the only one-sided match of the day, which otherwise witnessed tough fights, Lebescond conceded only two points to her rival before emerging a 6-1, 6-1 winner.

But for a lapse in concentration in the second set, Chakravarti, ranked 465th, was streets superior to the 354th ranked Helen.

Rushmi had won the 10,000-dollar singles event in Delhi last September and in November 2000 she had won a doubles title along with Sai Jaylakshmi.

In the doubles also, Rushmi, in the company of Jaylakshmi, made short work of Chin Bee Khoo of Malaysia and Radhika Tulpule of India, winning 6-2, 6-1 to move into the second round.

In other matches, Sybillie Bammer of Austria had to fight it out before downing Capucina Rousseau of France 6-2, 2-6, 6-4; Britain's Loma Woodroffe overcame spirited Thai player Suchanan Viratprasert 6-4, 5-7, 6-4.

In the doubles, Russia's Ekaterina Kozhokina and US-based Sunitha Rao combined well to beat the Czech pair of Dominca Luzarova and Hana Sromovo 7-6(1), 6-4.

UNI