Irina knocks out number two seed Dalila to enter final

Rallying from behind in both sets, unseeded Irina Khromacheva of Russia stunned second seed Dalila Jakupovic of Slovenia 6-4 7-5 to enter the singles final of the L and T Mumbai Open tennis tournament here Saturday.

Irina is to meet Thailand's fifth-seeded Luksika Kumkhum in the final following the latter's 6-2 6-4 victory in 1 hour and ten minutes over another Russian player, sixth-seeded Margarita Gasparyan, in the second semi final.

Left-handed Irina was trailing 0-3 in both the sets after dropping her serve but came out with some clever play to upset the rhythm of Dalila, ranked 73rd and the runner-up to Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus last year in this USD 125,000 WTA event, to come out trumps.

Irina, who was ranked 165 going into the tournament at the Cricket Club of India, slowed down the pace of the rallies consistently to upset the rhythm of her higher-ranked rival and won the match in an hour and 30 minutes at the Cricket Club of India's hard courts.

The ...