Date:06/05/2006 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2006/05/06/stories/2006050614741800.htm

Sport - Tennis

Double for Vinod

Principal Correspondent

KOCHI: They are good friends. And since they have been playing together for more than a decade at the Madras Cricket Club courts, they know each other's game well.

On Friday, Chennai's Vinod Sridhar defeated Kamala Kannan 6-3, 6-4 and won the men's singles title at the KRL AITA all-India tennis tournament at the Kochi Refineries courts, Ambalamugal.

Vinod, a left-hander and ranked No. 8 in the country, finished with a merry double, teaming up with Kamala Kannan to take the doubles crown.

"We've been playing each other right from the age of 14 and I've never beaten him," said Kamala Kannan.

The final, between the tournament's top two seeds and ONGC team-mates and played under a hot afternoon sun, was a predictable affair for a major part. Vinod's game has flair, as he works on the angles nicely and smartly varies the pace of his shots.

And today, the 26-year-old former National hardcourt champion, whose biggest crown came at the Kolkata Futures early last year, was quicker than Kamala Kannan too.

Clearly superior

Kamala Kannan, two years younger and ranked eight spots below his opponent in the current AITA list, came up with a few teasing drop shots which raised some cheer among the small crowd, but Vinod was clearly the superior player.

The two traded breaks early in the first set but after the sixth game, Vinod was a break up. The top seed also broke Kamala Kannan in the seventh game of the second set which virtually set up the win.

Cherian N. Punnoose, Director (Finance), Kochi Refineries Limited, gave away the prizes.

The results (finals):

Singles: Vinod Sridhar (TN) bt Kamala Kannan (TN) 6-3, 6-4.

Doubles: Vinod Sridhar-Kamala Kannan (TN) bt P.C. Vignesh (AP)-Kinshuk Sharma (Chd) 6-1, 6-0.