Vaishnavi’s marathon effort in vain as Indonesia outplay India in Billie Jean King Cup tennis

India’s campaign in the Billie Jean King Cup Asia Oceania Group I suffered a setback on Thursday as Indonesia secured an unassailable 2-0 lead after wins over Vaishnavi Adkar and Sahaja Yamalapalli at the DLTA Stadium in New Delhi .

The opening singles match turned into a gripping marathon as 21 year old Vaishnavi Adkar fought valiantly against Priska Madelyn Nugroho before going down 7-6(3), 6-7(3), 3-6 in a contest that lasted three hours and six minutes . Ranked 391 in the world , Vaishnavi produced one of her most spirited performances, engaging in long baseline rallies and showing impressive resilience under pressure.

Vaishnavi edged the first set through a tie break after saving a set point and displaying sharp shot making. The second set saw momentum swing repeatedly, with the Indian recovering from an early deficit and even serving for the match at 5-4 . However, Priska held her nerve to push the set into a tie break and level the match.

In the deciding set, Vaishnavi raced to a 2-0 lead , raising hopes of a memorable win. But Priska gradually took control with consistent returns and clever placement, breaking twice before sealing the hard fought victory.

India’s hopes of staying alive in the tie rested on Sahaja Yamalapalli , but world No. 41 Janice Tjen proved too strong. The Indonesian dominated the second singles with powerful groundstrokes and aggressive returns to win 6-2, 6-1 .

The doubles match featuring Ankita Raina and Rutuja Bhosale will follow, but Indonesia have already secured the tie. India had earlier defeated New Zealand 3-0 after losing 1-2 to Thailand in their opening clash.