Sahaja looking for stability with new coach Kuchlikov

Pune: Sahaja Yamalapalli set up a grudge match against top seed Leolia Jeanjean of France while Ankita Raina's spirited run came to a halt at the $60,000 NECC ITF women's tennis event at Deccan Gymkhana on Tuesday.Sahaja, who had been down with illness since competing in the Mumbai Open WTA 125K last week, overcame the brief rust to scrap past Russian Ekaterina Maklakova 6-4, 7-6 (6) to book a second-round date against Jeanjean, who had ousted the Indian in the second round in the same event last year.
World No. 115 Jeanjean, who reached the singles quarterfinals and doubles semifinals in Mumbai, struggled with the change in conditions and needed two hours and 21 minutes to overcome another Russian Erika Andreeva 2-6, 6-3, 7-5. "I played her last year here. It was a tough match. I lost but it was a close match. I'm really looking forward, excited for the challenge. I just want to go out there and play my game and see (whether) I can tactically play better than last time," Sahaja said of the face-off with the 30-year-old from Montpellier, who finished runner-up last year.The 25-year-old Hyderabadi, who had beaten an out-of-form former US Open champion Sloane Stephens at the WTA125 event in Mexico in October, has struggled to find a stable coaching setup throughout her career. The World No. 425 hopes that her new partnership with Dmitriy Kuchlikov, who had coached his daughter Elizaveta Kuchlikova to singles and doubles titles at the 2015 Australian Open junior championships, will prove to be a much-needed turning point.Kuchlikov, based in Thailand, was in Mumbai during the WTA 125K Series last week and is guiding the Indian in Pune as well. The Russian, who is back on the tour after a long gap as he mostly gives private tutorials back in Bangkok, spent much of his time the past few days watching players from various nationalities even as Sahaja was forced to stayed off the court due to a sore throat. "I haven't really found someone who I thought, like, he's the one that can take me (further up in the game) until recently. So that's why I've been doing a lot of changes, I don't want to travel with anyone who does not really complement you. I want someone who can make me win tournaments, that's what I've been looking for," said Sahaja.Interestingly, Sahaja has signed up with Grand Slam champion Sania Mirza's ‘Next Set' initiative which aims to provide coaching support for young and upcoming players. While the details of the programme are sketchy, it is understood that the players will have to choose from the pool of coaches, physios and nutritionists made available to them; unlike the "Doubles Dream of India" by KPIT which provides funding for the men's doubles players ranked in the top-200 and allows them to continue to work with their personal coaches while also offering the mentorship of a head coach, at present former world No. 7 Raven Klaasen of South Africa.Sahaja clarified that while she was thrilled to avail the services of a travelling physio from ‘Next Set', she would continue her exclusive arrangement with Kuchlikov.A challenging 2025 meant that her ranking dropped from a career-high 284 in October 2024, but Sahaja is not flustered."I'm happy at least I stayed in that level. Staying in that ranking and that level also is hard. We're always trying to get better, but sometimes you also should be grateful to where you are, because it's not easy," she said. "I think (what) I could do better this time is the stability in the (coaching) team. I'm really looking forward for that this year and see if that makes a difference."SHRIVALLI TAMES MILOVANOVA Meanwhile, in another first-round match, Shrivalli Rashmikaa, with respected coach M Balachandran in her box, played a disciplined game to make quick work of 18-year-old Russian southpaw Victoria Milovanova 6-3, 6-2.Up next for the Indian is last week's Mumbai Open champion Mananchaya Sawangkaew. The 23-year-old seventh seed, who like Jeanjean struggled to adjust to the conditions, overcame Japan's Mei Yamaguchi 1-6, 7-6 (5), 6-2.The Thai girl had beaten Shrivalli in three sets in their only meeting in Lexington in July 2024.ANKITA RUNS OUT OF STEAM Meanwhile, 33-year-old Ankita, who had come through two rounds of qualifying, ran out of gas as she, leading 5-1 in the decider, went down to Korea's Sohyun Park 3-6, 6-2, 5-7 in 2 hours and 32 minutes.In fact, having won eight games in a row from 2-2 in the second set, Ankita had a match-point when Park served at 4-5, 30-40 in the final set, but the latter held before going on to clinch the match.