Thaindian News

Bangalore, June 16 (IANS) Davis Cupper Vishnu Vardhan overcame top seed Ti Chen (Chinese Taipei) 6-2, 4-6, 6-1, in the rain-interrupted final of the $10,000 Toyota ITF Men’s Futures tennis tournament here Saturday for his second consecutive title.

In the doubles final, Ranjeet Virali Murugesan and Jeevan Nedunchezhiyan defeated top seeded Arun Prakash Rajagopalan and N Sriram Balaji 4-6, 6-3, 10-7.

Second seeded Vardhan, who had won the Mysore leg of the tour last week, saw off Chen’s fight back besides a 40-minute stoppage due to heavy showers in the first set.

As in the previous matches, Vardhan served well and sent down 16 aces in the match and complemented it with a strong forehand to take out Chen.

There were some minor hiccups in Vardhan’s game which was marked by three double faults and quite a few unforced errors especially in the second set. However, Vardhan pulled through keeping his focus and consistency.

Chen was a treat to watch as he essayed some superb volleys and came up with some solid backhand returns while being dominant at the net. However, he seemed unsettled by few line calls which went against him and he failed to match the fire power of Vardhan.

In the first set, Vardhan, after a tentative start in the first game which went to three deuces, found his rhythm quickly and broke in the fourth and eighth games to take the first set.

Chen hit back in the second set when he broke Vardhan in the third game with the latter netting a backhand. The break of serve was enough for Chen to take the set.

In the decider, it was Vardhan all the way as he broke in the fourth and sixth games for 5-1 lead before serving out the match.

Vardhan took home prize money of $1,300 and 18 points while Chen received $900 and 12 points.