Wednesday, May 22, 2002
Wednesday, May 22, 2002 |
| Sport | ||
|
News:
Front Page |
National |
Southern States |
Other States |
International |
Opinion |
Business |
Sport |
Miscellaneous |
Advts: Classifieds | Employment | Obituary | Sport
-
Tennis
By K.C. Vijaya Kumar
Israel's Tomer Suissa jumps in delight after scalping the top seed, Nitin Kirtane of India, in the Indian Oil `Servo' ITF Masters tennis tournament in Bangalore on Tuesday.
However, tiring legs and the law of averages caught up with him on Tuesday. And with an opponent - Israel's unseeded Tomer Suissa - steaming in on adrenaline, Nitin topped the casualty list. Tomer upset the top-seed 6-2, 6-3. Tomer had perhaps re-read the reports on his semifinal loss to Nitin in the opening leg at Delhi. The settling-scores act started in right earnest when Tomer won the first three games while Nitin's groundstrokes turned damp. When the Israeli broke Nitin in the eighth game to pocket the set, the top-seed may have still banked on a turnaround. In Delhi too, Nitin had lost the first set before he charged ahead into the finals to eventually win the title. However the script had changed despite the southpaw's attempts to hustle Tomer at the net. Nitin's backhand volley and a forehand whip hinted at a fight but Tomer's better court coverage and his forehand volleys backed by the lob-smash routine left the top-seed mulling over his bruises. "I had an off day. My legs did not respond after the first set and he (Tomer) was very aggressive,'' said Nitin. Unseeded Vishal Uppal added one more member to the ousted-seeds club, defeating the seventh-seed, Spain's Rafael Moreno Negrin, 4-6, 6-1, 7-6 (14-12) in a duel that lasted two hours and five minutes. "If only my body was as strong as my heart....,'' Vishal had said on Monday. And on this day, he reiterated his grit despite a strained right shoulder hampering his backhands and serve. In a tiebreaker that tested eternity, Vishal failed to cash in on three match-points on serve. He, however, broke back on Rafael's serve with a deft volley to secure his quarterfinal berth. Mustafa Ghouse, second-seed, and Sandeep Kirtane, third seed, headed the favourites-list into the quarterfinals. Mustafa defeated Shivang Mishra 6-7 (6-8), 6-3, 6-2 while Sandeep scored a 2-6, 6-4, 6-2 victory over Japan's Naoki Arimoto. The results: singles: 2nd round: Vishal Uppal (Ind) bt Rafael Moreno Negrin (Esp) 4-6, 6-1, 7-6 (14-12); Vinod Sridhar (Ind) bt Ivan Syrov (Rus) 6-3, 6-4; Eliran Dooyev (Isr) bt Rohan Gajjar (Ind) 6-3, 4-6, 6-2; Hayato Furukawa (Jpn) bt Raviv Volkovitzky (Isr) 7-5, 6-2; Tomer Suissa (Isr) bt Nitin Kirtane (Ind) 6-2, 6-3; Sandeep Kirtane (Ind) bt Naoki Arimoto (Jpn) 2-6, 6-4, 6-2; Mustafa Ghouse (Ind) bt Shivang Mishra (Ind) 6-7 (6-8), 6-3, 6-2; Vijay Kannan (Ind) bt Manoj Mahadevan (Ind) 6-3, 6-0. Doubles (quarterfinals): Ivan Syrov (Rus)/Amod Wakalakar (Ind) bt Kamala Kannan/Rishi Sridhar (Ind) 7-6 (8-6), 6-3; Rohan Gajjar/Sandeep Kirtane (Ind) bt Giunior Ghedina/Sebastian Niedermayer (Ger) 6-2, 6-3; Nitin Kirtane/Vishal Uppal (Ind) bt Naoki Arimoto/Hayato Furukawa (Jpn) 6-4, 6-1; Mustafa Ghouse/Vijay Kannan (Ind) bt Stephen Donovan/Rafael Moreno Negrin (Esp) 6-1, 4-6, 6-3.
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail
News:
Front Page |
National |
Southern States |
Other States |
International |
Opinion |
Business |
Sport |
Miscellaneous |
|
|
|
The Hindu Group: Home | About Us | Copyright | Archives | Contacts | Subscription Group Sites: The Hindu | Business Line | The Sportstar | Frontline | Home |
Copyright © 2002, The
Hindu. Republication or redissemination of the contents of
this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of
The Hindu
|