PUNE, JANUARY 25 There was another tennis player from Hyderabad at the Australian Open. Punam Reddy didn’t have as impressive a run as her citymate but served up enough to offer a glimpse of her potential.

India’s lone entrant in the junior girls section, Reddy (17) lost in the first round in both singles and doubles (partnering Japan’s Erika Sema).

She is aware of where she went wrong, saying her 5-7, 6-4, 4-6 loss to Sorana Cirstea (Romania) in the singles was due to ‘‘relaxing in the third set. I should not have done that.’’

This was her maiden trip Down Under, a campaign that was born out of her resolution last year to ‘‘make it’’ in the sport.

It’s a determination that’s common to her fellow Hyderabadi, with whom she shares close ties. She occasionally doubles up as Sania’s hitting partner and is being coached by none other than S Narendranath, Sania’s first organised coach.

‘‘We both practiced together’’, Punam says. ‘‘I am so happy for her.’’

She acknowledges, however, the difference between the two. ‘‘It’s a long way up.’’

A first generation tennis player, southpaw Punam has had a ‘‘so so’’ career after starting off as an eight-year-old at the Sinnet Tennis Academy.

Her best year however has been 2004, when she managed to reach the final of two Grade-III tournaments in Bangladesh, apart from winning a doubles title in South Africa. In the senior section, Punam — who ranks No 5 in India — reached the semis of the Mumbai ITF. There, she came through the qualifiers and then knocked out two seeds.

‘‘It was my best run among seniors,’’ she says, adding that it took her up to 573 in the rankings. She finished the year with a 10-9 record in the senior section.