State players Vaishnavi and Madhurima among wildcards

Pune: Upcoming state players Vaishnavi Adkar and Madhurima Sawant have been awarded main draw wildcards in the NECC $50K ITF women’s tennis event which kicked off with the qualifying rounds at Deccan Gymkhana on Sunday.Reigning Fenesta Open national champion Shrivalli Rashmikaa and former national champion Vaidehi Chaudhari have been handed the other two wildcards for the hard-court event.India No. 1 Ankita Raina, who retired due to indisposition in the second round in Bengaluru last week, Asian Games gold medallist Rutuja Bhosale and rising talent Sahaja Yamalapalli feature in the main draw.Latvian World No. 144 Darja Semenistaja, who clinched the title in Bengaluru is the highest ranked player on the entry list.Meanwhile, Zeel Desai and Humera Baharmus scored contrasting wins in the first round of qualification.Humera overcame Akanksha Nitture 2-6, 7-6 (7), 6-3, saving two match points at 4-6 in the second set tiebreak, while Zeel overwhelmed Sanjana Sirimalla 6-2, 6-0.Other home contenders in the field -- Ishwari Matere, Saumya Vig, Soha Sadiq, Nidhitra Rajmohan, Paavani Paathak, Jennifer Luikham, Sameeksha Shroff, Smriti Bhasin, Sonal Patil and Sravya Shivani -- crashed out without winning a set.