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Tennis
By Nandakumar Marar
Daniel Kiernan of Great Britain in action against Prakash Amritraj of the US in the semifinals of the ITF Satellite tennis tournament in Mumbai on Friday. — Photo: Vivek Bendre
The former blasted his way past Prakash Amritraj in Friday's men's singles semifinal, winning in straight sets. Rohan Gajjar's challenge ended against a solid wall in the form of a tall Indonesian, the Mumbai youngster meeting a tame end after a rash of errors undermined his confidence. Kiernan overpowered the highest seed in the draw 6-2, 7-6 (4) for a leap in status, from a qualifier struggling to handle the Mumbai heat into a confident finalist. Simpatiaji returned almost everything younger Gajjar hurled at him to negotiate an easier passage into Saturday's title clash, winning 7-6 (4), 6-1. A qualifier will take on an unseeded player in the most important match of the first leg, sponsored and organised by the Maharashtra State Lawn Tennis Association. The 23-year-old Briton, a recent addition to the pro ranks, appeared at ease with himself from the start against second seeded Prakash. "Winning three matches back-to-back, all three-setters, to reach this far and that too after coming through the qualifying rounds, helped me approach the match in a relaxed state. Prakash, I know is a better player, so I tried to avoid getting too uptight in the opening set and not go all out,'' said Kiernan, stunning the sparse gathering by winning the first set 6-2 with fluent play, backed by superior serving. Amritraj raised the ante in the second set, but failed to shake his rival's self-belief. Kiernan put himself in charge with thundering first serves, the high coming in the sixth game when he sent down three aces in a row, serving eight aces in all over one hour, 33 minutes. The stocky qualifier won a lot of points on his heavy backhands, almost walking into the shot. Prakash's attempts at hustle with net-rushing tactics failed on two occasions, instinctive Kiernan lobs hit high towards the baseline leaving him stranded. Father Vijay Amritraj kept up a steady flow of encouraging words, but Prakash could not turn the tide. "Things fell my way. Prakash had his chances, but he could not convert them into points,'' observed Kiernan, delighted at making his first ITF Circuit final, besides escaping the ordeal of qualifying for the second leg at Chandigarh. "I guess avoiding the qualifiers next week was good enough incentive to reach the first week's final after being involved in so many three-setters.'' Simpatiaji was far too solid, far too compact for Gajjar to handle. The unseeded Indonesian varied the pace to force the aggressive Indian off rhythm, carving out an impressive semifinal victory in one hour, 26 minutes. The Mumbai youngster, playing in a familiar environment at the Dr. G.A. Ranade Tennis Centre, blew his chances in the first set. He was on setpoint at 40-15 in the 12th game leading 6-5, and then missed three breakpoints with mistimed volleys. Drawing level at 6-6, the Indonesian won the tiebreaker and went on to dominate as Gajjar's confidence slumped. The results (Indians unless specified): Men: singles: semifinals: Daniel Kiernan (G. Br) bt 2-Prakash Amritraj (U.S.) 6-2, 7-6 (4); Prima Simpatiaji (Ina) bt Rohan Gajjar 7-6 (4), 6-1.
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