Vaishnavi Adkar added another highlight to her breakout season as the Indian wild card upset Britain’s Jodie Burrage 3-6, 6-3, 7-5 in a thriller to record her maiden Tour-level win at the WTA Chennai Open on Tuesday.

The 21-year-old from Maharashtra, who began the year as World No. 681, has nearly halved her ranking and entered this week’s WTA 250 event as the host nation’s best player.

Despite a nervous start, Vaishnavi eventually lived up to the billing to secured an incredible come-from-behind victory against Burrage in two hours and 46 minutes much to the delight of the spectators, including her mentor and former doubles World No. 1 Rohan Bopanna, on a pleasant evening at the SDAT Stadium in Nungambakkam.

Former World No. 85 Burrage put the pressure straight away on Vaishnavi with a love hold, featuring two aces, in the opening game. Vaishnavi immediately dropped her serve and fell further behind.

Perhaps, to get rid of that nervousness, she needed a bit of luck and it finally came when a perfectly fine backhand from the Brit clipped the tape and went wide.

Swinging her racquet in a more relaxed manner, Vaishnavi reeled off three games in a row. Even though that advantage didn’t last long, she was no more overwhelmed by the occasion.

During a lengthy deuce game at 1-1 in the second set, Vaishnavi produced winning lobs from both wings to hold serve, even forcing Burrage to applaud. With the momentum on her side, Vaishnavi managed to force a third set and even ran to a 3-1 lead in the decider before her rival launched a barrage of forehand winners.

Burrage earned herself the chance to serve for the match at 5-3. However, Vaishnavi refused to budge and ultimately outlasted her much experienced opponentwho needed a medical timeout before the final game as the humidity took its toll on her.

Top results (first round): Vaishnavi Adkar bt Jodie Burrage (GBr) 3-6, 6-3, 7-5; Janice Tjen (Ina) bt Katherine Hui (USA) 6-1, 6-2; Polina Kudermetova (Uzb) bt Viktoria Morvayova (Svk) 6-3, 4-6, 6-1; Anastasia Zakharova (Rus) bt Polina Iatcenko (Rus) 7-6(3), 6-1; Robin Montgomery (USA) bt Panna Udvardy (Hun) 6-4, 1-6, 6-1.