Vaishnavi Adkar: 'Expectations exist because of my capability' after BJK Cup loss

Adkar produced a spirited performance but fell short in a marathon three-set battle against Priska Madelyn Nugroho as India conceded an unassailable 0-2 lead to Indonesia in their third tie of the Billie Jean King Cup Asia/Oceania Group I clash on Thursday.

Playing here at the DLTA Stadium, the 21-year-old Indian, ranked 391, went down 7-6(3), 6-7(3), 3-6 in a gruelling contest lasting over three hours. Despite the defeat, Adkar's performance was marked by resilience, tactical variation, and relentless fighting spirit.

Reflecting on the match, Adkar said, "Pretty tough match today, very long one. Obviously, it didn't go my way, didn't go our way, but it was definitely disappointing to not get the win. The important thing was to just keep fighting till the very last point, and I put up a really good fight even though it didn't go my way. Proud of the efforts, but again just disappointing."

The contest saw dramatic momentum swings, with Adkar taking the opening set in a tie-break after saving a set point. However, missed opportunities at key moments proved costly.

Addressing those lapses, she admitted, "A lot of ups and downs in the match, and there were times where I should have been more solid, but I wasn't, and I did make a few errors, but I did get back. I think she just played more solid tennis, and she was better today."

The second set mirrored the first in intensity. Adkar recovered from an early deficit and even served for the match at 5-4, but Nugroho raised her level in the tie-break to force a decider. The Indonesian then capitalised on crucial breaks in the third set to seal the win.

Coming into the tie after an impressive win over New Zealand's Aishi Das on the previous day, Adkar dismissed the idea of pressure affecting her performance.

"The expectations are there because the capability is there. So honestly, not really thinking of it as a pressure, in fact, it's just going to help with the confidence even more because I know people do believe in me, and I believe in myself too. It didn't go my way, but it was a pretty tough opponent. I know I wasn't going to get a lot of free points, and she did put up an amazing fight, just a tough loss."

A pivotal moment came when Nugroho took a lengthy medical timeout during the second set, briefly disrupting the match's rhythm. Adkar acknowledged both its impact and how she tried to adapt.

"I took that time to recover as well, because the first set went on for a very long time. I got that extra time to recover, I used it to reset and get into the zone, and I think I did pretty well in the next game, but I couldn't maintain it. It did hamper the momentum and cost me a few points at times where I could have been a bit more solid, but these are the matches you learn from, and every loss is a lesson learnt."

She further underlined the demands of competing at higher levels, stating, "Once you play higher level tournaments and higher level opponents, you don't get free points, you have to fight for every point, every aspect must be very strong."

Despite the heartbreak, the young Indian viewed the loss as a valuable learning experience.

"Losses like these teach you more than easy wins. It shows, it exposes the weaknesses, and helps us to get a better idea of things I need to work on, because matches where you win straight and easy don't show what I need to work on. Losses are good lessons for me to understand what I need to improve on."

- IANS