Dipika Pallikal to face Annie in Qualifying Finals; Saurav Ghosal bows out

New York: India's world No.12 Dipika Pallikal defeated England's Emily Whitlock in straight games to march into the Qualifying Finals of the Women's JP Morgan Tournament of Champions, here.

However, world no.15 Saurav Ghosal lost a hard fought battle against Simon Rosner of Germany in his opening round of the PSA World Series event.

Ghosal went down 12-14, 16-14, 11-4, 9-11, 5-11 in 101 minutes against world no.13 Rosner at Grand Central Terminal.

Pallikal, the highest-ranked player in the qualifying draw, beat Whitlock 11-6, 11-8, 11-6 in the first qualifying round of the WSA Gold event at the Princeton Club. The Chennai girl will now face Hong Kong's Annie Au for a place in the main draw for the third year in a row. P