Harsh, Sandeep in last four

By Kamesh Srinivasan

NEW DELHI, JUNE 28. Harsh Mankad and Sandeep Kirtane marched on to keep the Indian challenge alive as the top four seeds made the semifinals in the Oriental Bank of Commerce ITF Satellite Circuit Masters at the DLTA Complex here on Wednesday.

Danai Udomchoke of Thailand won the circuit as he took his tally to an unbeatable 73 points, subduing the eighth-seeded Marian Leysek of Slovakia 6-3, 6-3, in 54 minutes. The Thai, however, will need to make the final to win the maximum possible 36 ATP points, including six bonus points. He has assured himself 34 ATP points so far.

The second-seeded Harsh, who took his tally to 56 circuit points, an equivalent of 25 ATP points, continued with his magic spell, as he cruised to a 6-1, 2-0 lead against Barry Fulcher when the Briton signalled his resignation, suggesting physical exhaustion.

Actually, it was more a case of Fulcher being mentally tired to stand up to the challenge of his opponent's steady play and his own erratic form.

The champion of the first leg, Sandeep Kirtane bounced back strongly to record a 6-7 (4-7), 6-2, 7-5 triumph over Rishi Sridhar in an energy-sapping contest that spanned two hours and 33 minutes. Sandeep has taken his tally to 46 circuit points, good enough to fetch him 18 ATP points.

In the fourth quarterfinal, the fourth-seeded Per Thornadtsson of Sweden scripted a 6-2, 6-4 victory over Ajay Ramaswamy, in setting up a challenge with Harsh Mankad.

He may not have the power, but the 20-year-old Harsh has everything else to make him a serious challenger. Putting all his assets to good use, Harsh teased the Briton who had lost to him in three sets after enjoying a 6-3, 5-1 lead in the third leg. In fact, it was the third victory for Harsh over the Briton whom he had beaten in straight sets in Mumbai.

The towering Fulcher did not look to have recovered from the shock of last week, as he made a mess of his chances with his wayward play, managing to hold serve only once, in the fourth game of the match. In fact, the Briton had to play 43 points in his four service games, which must have drained his confidence.

While Harsh reeled off 14 winners, including five on return of serve, there was no sign of the Briton's big serves, as he ended up with one ace and two volleys to show for his ability. Harsh had one doublefault and 20 unforced errors while the Briton had two doublefaults and 27 mistakes in the abbreviated contest that spanned 44 minutes.

It will be the second meeting for Harsh against Thornadtsson, who was making his third semifinal in the circuit. Quite intriguingly, the 22-year-old Swede had also retired early in the second set against Harsh in Bangalore.

In snuffing the challenge from Ajay, Thornadtsson showed that he had the uncanny ability to hit deep into the corners especially on the backhand with remarkable consistency. In a lively exhibition of big serves and sharp strokes, the Swede reeled off four aces, four service winners, three return of serve winners apart from ten other winners. He did commit 32 unforced errors, but Ajay had 41 errors.

The strapping Indian with strong legs, the 20-year-old Ajay fired three aces, but had eight doublefaults. He had 14 winners including five volleys to show for his positive play. Ajay was broken in the fifth and seventh games in the first set, and the Swede broke him in the first game of the second set to further assert his supremacy.

Ajay managed to break Thornadtsson in the second game, and held on, saving three breakpoints in the fifth game. However, the resistance could not last longer, as Ajay dropped serve in the seventh game. He saved three matchpoints, but the Swede came up with a big serve to finish the contest in an hour and 20 minutes.

Sandeep Kirtane allowed two early breaks to be neutralised and missed two breakpoints in the 11th game to allow the contest to meander into the tie-break. He sought medical attention after losing the first set, but stayed on to script a courageous win.

After early exchange of breaks Sandeep broke Rishi in the sixth and eighth games of the second set to even the contest. In the decider, he took a 5-2 lead following a break in the second game, but Rishi fought his way back with a break in the ninth game, and held serve at love to evenly balance the match.

However, at the climax Sandeep showed his experience, stretching his exhausted opponent from side to side, making him play, to hold serve easily in the 11th game. He broke Rishi rather comfortably in the 12th game, though he missed two matchpoints at 0-40, before Rishi obliged by putting a backhand long.

The serve deserted Marian Leysek at inopportune times in his match against Danai Udomchoke. The Slovak had 11 doublefaults that landed him in deep trouble, from where it was difficult for him to wriggle out with his seven aces.

After taking the first set swiftly, Udomchoke tightened the noose in the second set when he converted the fifth breakpoint following 11 deuces in the second game, after having fired three aces in a row to take the first game.

Thereafter, it was a matter of time before the Slovak collapsed because of the intensity of the Thai's game, and Leysek did so in quick time, on the fast courts where the ball stayed hit. Udomchoke needed to save only one breakpoint in the whole match, and had eight aces and four doublefaults.

The singles semifinals will be played on Thursday morning one after the other in front of `live' television, with the first match featuring Harsh Mankad. The doubles semifinals will be held one each in the morning and evening.

The results (Indians otherwise mentioned):

Singles (quarterfinals): Danai Udomchoke (Tha) bt Marian Leysek (Svk) 6-3, 6-3; Sandeep Kirtane bt Rishi Sridhar 6-7 (4-7), 6-2, 7-5; Per Thornadtsson (Swe) bt Ajay Ramaswamy 6-2, 6-4; Harsh Mankad bt Barry Fulcher (GBR) 6-1, 2-0 (conceded).

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