Kazakh tennis player Zhibek Kulambayeva failed to reach the third round of the WTA 250 tournament in Chennai, India, losing in the second round, infohub.kz reports.
The athlete, ranked 473rd in the world and who qualified for the main draw, faced world No. 160 Mai Hontama of Japan in the round of 16.
The match went the full three sets and ended in a 6-4, 4-6, 5-7 defeat for Kulambayeva. The players spent 3 hours and 16 minutes on court. During that time, Zhibek did not record a single ace, made seven double faults and converted eight of 17 break points earned.
Kulambayeva thus fell one step short of the quarterfinals. It is also worth noting that this result is historic for the Kazakh player: she had never previously advanced beyond the first round at WTA 250 tournaments in singles.
Zhibek will continue competing at the tournament in India in doubles. Together with Australia's Gabriella Da Silva Fick, she will battle for a place in the semifinals.