Ankita Raina’s hopes of making to the main draw of the French Open were crushed in the opening qualifying round when she went down 4-6, 4-6 against 15-year-old Cori Gauff of USA on Tuesday.
The 26-year-old, who has come up with impressive performances in the last 12 months, was guilty of not making the most of her chances in the one hour and 24-minute encounter.
In the first set, Raina fought back from a 2-5 deficit to close the gap to 4-5 before an unforced error cost her the set on the first break point of the 10th game.
In the second set, the Indian opened up a 3-1 lead after breaking Gauff, last season’s girls singles champion, in the third game before both the players traded quick breaks with Raina leading 4-3.
But the 26-year-old lost her serve without scoring a point in the next game and Gauff wrapped the set and match two games later, breaking Raina once again on her second match point.
