Upsets top seed Ekaterina Makarova for her eighth title

Second seeded Moyuka Uchijima of Japan shattered Russian top seed Ekaterina Makarova dreams of a grand double with a clinical 6-4, 6-1 win in the Women’s Singles final of the IWTC-2023 ITF World Tennis Tour $40K Tournament (Shri Ganesh Naik Initiative) that was organized by the Navi Mumbai Sports Association (NMSA) in association with Maharashtra State Lawn tennis Association (MSLTA) under the auspices of the ITF, AITA  on Sunday 31st December, 2023 in the 21^st Century city.

Displaying supreme fitness, the 22-year old Uchijima overcame her initial nerves after top seed Makarova had won her opening game without a sweat (love game). Not only did the Japanese managed to hold on to her serve with some difficulty, but went on to break her 27-year old rivals serve hands down (love game).

A charged up 27-year old Makarova put up a gallant display in the next three games, that saw the two finalist contest showcased a variety of serves backed by long rallies, delicate net play - a rarity on the hard courts in the midst of numerous dues, much to the delight of the hundreds of tennis fans that had congregated at the refurbished Ganesh Naik Tennis Complex in Vashi. Uchijima however managed to hold her second serve game after gaining advantage twice and lead 3-1, before being on the receiving end as her rival claw back. Despite having an upper hand with three game points in her favour during the marathon fifth game and once in the sixth, the duo continued to slug it out over seven due points in all, before Makarova who held her nerves,  to level the set score 3-3 at this stage.

Not to be disheartened, Uchijima raised her game by breaking Makarova’s next serve game before holding on to her by conceding only one point each in the next two. Down 3-5 Makarova reduced the margin, and saved three set points on Uchijima’s serve before the later won the opening set 6-4.

Buoyed by the success an upbeat Uchijima, soon raised her game in the second set against the flushed out Makarova playing her fifth highly competitive match in three days (singles and doubles combined in the tourney, four of which went to the wire - three setters under oppressive hot conditions) with a service break after having a buffer of three game points. She continued to dominate the proceeding thereafter and took a substernal 3-1 lead by serving the lone ace of the match. Makarova, who underwent physio treatment, soon fought back amidst huge applause from the gathering for her courageous efforts. Despite conceding three game points on her serves, drew level at 40-all, before losing the fifth game on second dues. Uchijima however went to register a love game soon after before once again by breaking Makarova’s serve after the later made the cardinal sin of serving double faults twice at crucial time (nine in the match overall) before winning the second set on the trot with a 6-1 in the grand finale, that lasted 71 minutes in what was the 10th edition of the Navi Mumbai based international tournament, that was upgraded from $25K to $40K this time around.

Uchijima who threw her hand in delight soon after her, signed off the year 2023 with her first title of the season and eighth overall, also improved her ranking to 173, after earning 70 points for efforts add to the winner’s prize money of $6094 (₹ 5,06,900). Earlier she had won a $25K event in Pune a couple of years ago too.

On the other hand it was a disappointment for the Russian based Makarova who lost out on the singles title in the second ITF tournament on the trot in India. On the brighter side she achieved a new career high of 165 and the runners-up purse of $3257 (₹2.70 lakhs), at the back of her doubles triumph with her close friend Kamilla Bartone from Latvia.

The Matko Jelcic coached Moyuka Uchijima after her victory congratulated her rival finalist for a great contest and that it brought out the best in her to counter her in tough challenging conditions and the win was a fitting reward for her hard work and efforts, throughout the course of week at a great venue in India.

Ekaterina Makarova, who had won $25K single title early in September, credited her opponent’s perseverance and fitness for her success in a great final and felt that the previous two days' encounters had an effect on her performance on the big day. She further felt the experience gained will certainly help her in her future endeavours.

The prizes were given away at the hands of Chief Guest Ganesh Naik - MLA & Hon. President - NMSA, Guest of Honour - Kobbi Shoshani, Consulate General of Israel, Dr. Dilip Rane -Tournament Director & Hon. Vice President NMSA, MSLTA and other dignitaries including NMSA Committee members.

In his address, the Chief Guest Ganesh Naik congratulated both the finalists for their great performance and hoped that the future editions of this tournament will continue to rise in status both financially and in terms of players participation from across the globe. He further wished that peace will prevail all around the world and sports is a good example which helps people unite despite caste, creed , religion and geographical boundaries.  

Guest of Honour - Kobbi Shoshani, a Tennis player himself who had been witness to the Navi Mumbai based annual international tourney event thrice earlier felt that the players performances will certainly inspire young

talented Tennis players to pursue their dreams on the big stage. He also congratulated the finalists for their splendid display in challenging conditions.
Tournament Director & Hon. Vice President NMSA, MSLTA, Dr. Dilip Rane was happy that the tournament has been serving its purpose by providing more opportunities for Indian players to compete against the best for the past ten years and gain valuable rating points too. He was happy that his team could deliver the goods with support from MSLTA, AITA and ITF officials once again and in particular that they received from Sunder Iyer Hon Secretary of MSLTA and AITA, that helped them hold a  $40K tourney in the milestone tenth year. (Photos by Ashok Dhamija)

Results (Singles Final) 

2) Moyuka Uchijima (JPN) bt 1) Ekaterina Makarova (RUS) 6-4, 6-1