The Hindu : Sport / Tennis : Vijay Kannan takes honours

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Monday, Sep 20, 2004

Sport

Sport - Tennis

Vijay Kannan takes honours

By Kamesh Srinivasan

NEW DELHI, SEPT. 19. Vijay Kannan lived up to his name at last, as he beat Vinod Sridhar 7-5, 6-3 in the final of the Indian Oil $10,000 ITF men's Futures tennis tournament at the DLTA Complex here on Saturday.

The 24-year-old had taken quite a while in winning his maiden title at this level, but the wait was worth it as Vijay collected 18 ATP points, a bonanza for someone who had managed to get only four ATP points in four weeks of toil in the Satellite circuit in Pakistan recently.

Vijay had finished runner-up to Sunil Kumar in the only other final that he had figured at this level, two years ago. The Afro-Asian Games champion had enjoyed a 5-3 head-to-head record in international competition against the left-handed Vinod, but those three defeats had come in succession in the last three meetings, including twice this season.

However, the confident manner in which Vijay handled this match despite a bad start when he was down 3-5 in the first set, suggested that he was ready to step into the next league.

"I wish I had more tournaments to play now. I am feeling so confident about my game. I think I take time to settle down. I felt lethargic at the beginning, but had to step up the game as Vinod is a tough player and is always hard to beat'', said Vijay after the match.

The young man was quick in calling his parents back home in Chennai to convey the happy tidings, and remembered with gratitude as to how hard they had struggled to see him reach this far.

Actually, it was a struggle for Vinod this day, as he was unable to put together a meaningful challenge mainly because of a non-cooperative first serve. After getting broken in the tenth and twelfth games of the first set, Vinod conceded further initiative as he got broken in the fourth game of the second set.

Errors from Vinod

The errors eroded into his confidence, and stopped him from being at his best. He was a pale shadow of his self, and thus could not capture his second title after the one won in 2002, when he beat Ajay Ramaswami in the final.

There was a minor recovery when Vijay was broken in the fifth game, but a lucky chord helped Vijay wrest the initiative once again in the next game, and he had little trouble in serving out the match after taking it easy in the eighth game.

It was a fine entertainment for the sparse gathering, as the two indulged in lively rallies, putting all their experience and intelligence in play.

The winner collected $1300 and the runner-up had to be content with $900.

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