TENNIS | Shrivalli sets sight on the Australian Open

Shrivalli Bhamidipaty, national tennis champion, aims for Australian Open, climbing international rankings with explosive game and family support.

Shrivalli Bhamidipaty is happy to be the national tennis champion. In fact, the 22-year-old from Hyderabad was at the DLTA Complex, happy to find her name added to the list of champions in the banner, even though she was not competing in the Fenesta National championship starting on Monday.

From being a national champion, Shrivalli, with her explosive game, has grown pretty strong in the international professional circuit. She has now trained her sight on getting into the Australian Open next year.

“It is always nice to come to the National championship. I have happy memories. I was scheduled to compete this time, but had to change plans to prepare better for the international events,” said Shrivalli.

Shrivalli has been able to build on her superb run to the final of the $25,000 ITF event in Indore in March. She competed in the USA, Thailand, Korea, Chnese Taipei and Australia with encouraging results.

Two quarterfinals back to back in Perth, Australia, in $60,000 events have pushed her up in the ranking list to No. 318, her career best. Prior to that, she qualified for a similar event and played the second round, in Lexington, USA.

“I could have won the quarterfinal against Madddson Inglis in Perth, as I was leading 5-2 in the third set. It slipped away, but I am growing as a person and a player, with all the experience,” said Shrivalli.

She will be competing in the two ITF events in Mysuru and Bengaluru for a fortnight before going to Australia for a series of tournaments.