Vishnu Vardhan wins title - The Hindu

DOING IT AGAIN:Vishnu Vardhan won the Toyota Bangalore Open title, his second straight success after last weekend's triumph at Mysore.— PHOTO: K. Gopinathan

: It proved to be a second successive Saturday of extreme delight for Vishnu Vardhan. The second seed claimed the singles title in the $10,000 Toyota Bangalore Open ITF tournament that concluded here at the KSLTA Court. In the final, Vishnu defeated top-seeded Ti-Chen of Chinese Taipei 6-2, 4-6, 6-1.
Last weekend, Vishnu had won the ITF at Mysore and like then, he raised his game for the occasion in a summit clash that stretched past sunset, thanks to a 100-minute rain-stoppage. Vishnu's serves were largely spot-on, and with 16 aces, he often notched the decisive points against an errant Ti, who ranted about line-calls and even once pointed his hands towards the skies and beseeched the gods, “I hope you are watching this!”
The opening set initially went with serve, until wet weather cried halt to the proceedings. On resumption, Vishnu broke Ti in the fourth and eighth games as the latter kept hitting wide. Vishnu proved equally adept at the net and soon, he nailed the first set and was seemingly riding the tide.
Ti though had other ideas and lived up to his top billing in the second set. He sliced his shots, imparted spin, slowed the pace and dominated the rallies with the deft drop shot, often being the sucker punch. The top-seed broke Vishnu in the third game and though a few points went through the deuce-advantage conundrum, Ti stayed firm to draw level and drag the contest into decider.
After the build-up, the third set proved to be a let-down in terms of a contest, as Vishnu breezed ahead at a stunning pace under lights, with breaks in the fourth and sixth games. And as always, when boxed into a corner, Vishnu unleashed his deep serves, while Ti lost the fight in his mind and crumbled with a string of errors.
Earlier, Jeevan Nedunchezhiyan and Ranjeet Virali Murugesan bagged the doubles title.
The results (finals, Indian unless specified): Singles: Vishnu Vardhan bt Ti-Chen (Tpe) 6-2, 4-6, 6-1. Doubles: Jeevan Nedunchezhiyan & Ranjeet Virali Murugesan bt Arun Prakash Rajagopalan & N. Sriram Balaji 4-6, 6-3, 10-7.

Vishnu Vardhan emerges the champion

- Photo: M.A. SriramPRIZED POSSESSION: P. Vishnu Vardhan, who won the singles title on Saturday.

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Second seed P. Vishnu Vardhan defeated seventh-seeded Sriram Balaji 7-6(7), 6-3 in the final to take the title in the Zuari Garden City-ITF $10,000 tennis tournament here on Saturday.

Vishnu, with his powerful serves and consistent returns, prevailed over his 22-year-old rival who did not capitalise on the chances, especially in the tie-breaker of the first set.

Sriram, despite serving half-a-dozen aces and attacking strongly to have Vishnu in trouble, was unable to break his rival's serve in both the sets which offset his spirited effort.

In fact, it was Sriram's serve that came under pressure on several occasions in the first set where the first, seventh and 11th games went to deuce. With both holding serve, the first set went to the tie-breaker.

Remarkable recovery

In the tie-break, Sriram was serving at 6-3, one point away from taking the set, when Vishnu recovered to draw level and finally won 9-7, with Sriram putting one wide over the baseline.

The second set too proved an absorbing affair marked by some keen rallies before Sriram wilted in the eighth game with some unforced errors.

He dropped serve by slamming a forehand return out. Vishnu, who took a 5-3 lead with that break, served out the match in style to emerge a worthy winner.

An elated Vishnu said, “I am happy to win here. Sriram is an improved player and has done well on the ITF circuit in India and is always a tough rival.

“I think he was unlucky in the first set where he had three set points in the tie-break. I had to rely on my experience to get through.

“In the second set, however, it was much easier as he seemed to be tiring out after having played a doubles final and a three-set semifinals on Friday.”

Vishnu won $1300 and 18 points while Sriram took home $900 and earned 12 points.

The prizes to the winners were given away by Binayak Dutta, CFO, Zuari Industries. P.S. Vastrad, Deputy Commissioner & District Administrator, Mysore and Chairman, Organising Committee,Karti Chidambaram, Vice President, All India Tennis Association (AITA), K.L. Sudeer, Commissioner of Police, Mysore.

Former Test cricketer Javagal Srinath and KSTA Hon. Secretary Sunder Raju were the others present.

The result (final): P. Vishnu Vardhan bt Sriram Balaji 7-6(7), 6-3.

Keywords: P. Vishnu Vardhan, Zuari Garden City-ITF $10, 000 tennis tournament

Tennis lovers throng MTC for finals

Vishnu Vardhan hopes more Indians would play in grand slams in future

The $10,000 Zuari Garden City ITF Mysore Open concluded here on Saturday with second seed Vishnu Vardhan staking claim to the men’s singles title.

Witnessing the finals were a large number of spectators including former Indian cricketer Javagal Srinath, who arrived to watch the thrilling finals between Vishnu Vardhan and N Sriram Balaji.

Even though Vardhan defeated Balaji in straight sets, a tough fight ensued between the duo in the first set, which ended in a tie-breaker.

Speaking after receiving the trophy, an elated Vardhan said, “I am happy to win here and Balaji is a much improved player and has done well in the ITF circuit in India.”

Elaborating on the match, Vardhan said, “Balaji is always a tough rival. I think he was unlucky in the first set where he had three set points in the tie break and I had to rely on my experience to get through.”

Continuing, he said, “In the second set however it was much easier as he seemed to be tiring out after having played a doubles final and three setter semi-finals yesterday”. He hoped that more Indian players would be playing at the Grand Slams in the coming years.

Saket Myneni bags ITF Men’s Future Tennis title

Mandya (Karnataka): Saket Myneni, the 24-year-old from Hyderabad, won the title in the $10,000 Prem Sugars ITF Men's Future tennis tournament here Saturday defeating top seed Vijayant Malik 6-3, 6-4 in the final.

The fourth seeded Myneni outplayed Malik in a lop-sided final that lasted just 54 minutes. Myneni blasted winners at will against an erratic Malik who struggled to find his rhythm. Though Malik came up with some strong returns, he however made quite a few unforced errors.

In the first set, Myneni playing aggressively, raced to a 3-0 lead breaking Malik in the second game. He kept up the momentum and wrapped up the set at 6-3.

The second set too followed the same pattern and Myneni slowing down the tempo forced Malik into lot of mishits. Myneni broke in the fifth game and then took a 4-2 lead before closing the set.

Myneni with this win earned $1,300 in prize money and 18 points while Malik took home $900 and earned 12 points. (IANS)