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Gajjar checks slide in time, enters final
After playing a tough three-setter in the quarterfinals, Rohan Gajjar was mentally prepared for another battle for a berth in the $15000 ITF Men's Futures final at DLTA.
After playing a tough three-setter in the quarterfinals, Rohan Gajjar was mentally prepared for another battle for a berth in the $15000 ITF Men's Futures final at DLTA.
However, a lapse in concentration made his semifinal match tougher than it needed to be.
Playing Ranjeet Virali-Murugesan, who had scalped top-seeded Japanese Junn Mitsuhashi in the last round, the 27-year-old Mumbaikar came out all guns blazing on Friday afternoon.
Gajjar, who has been training hard since a hamstring injury sidelined him for a few weeks, stuck to his strategy of chasing every ball. With a good hard-hitting game, he unsettled Ranjeet early in the first set. Up 5-2, a sudden lapse in concentration allowed Ranjeet to win four games in a row and take the upper hand.
Not willing to give up, Gajjar went for his whipping forehand in the tie-break and took the set 7-6(3) after losing out on five opportunities.
In the second, he was always in a strong position, forcing Ranjeet to make unforced errors. With a sudden
improvement in his service, Gajjar won the set 6-2 and set up a summit clash with second-seeded compatriot Vishnu Vardhan.
Earlier, Vardhan easily beat Britain's Daniel Cox 6-3, 6-4.
Victory was in strore for Vardhan, as he with partner Karan Rastogi lifted the men’s doubles title, defeating compatriots Vijayant Malik and N. Sriram Balaji 6-1, 6-3.
