CHENNAI, Oct 2: Seventh-seeded Dakshineshwar Suresh of Tamil Nadu upset top-seed Fardeen Qamar (Rajasthan) 6-3, 6-7(5), 6-4 in a well-fought final to win the men’s singles title in Appaswamy Open Tennis Championships 2021 held at the MPTA, KTC, here on Saturday.
The women’s top-seed Vaidehi Chaudhry of Gujarat rallied to beat Karnataka’s Reshma Maruri 4-6, 6-1, 6-0 to win the title.
Suresh took advantage of a tentative Qamar to break early and kept up the pressure on the No.1 seed to win the first set 6-3.
Qamar fought back in the second set and broke the strapping TN player’s serve in the third and fifth games to go up 4-1 in the second. Suresh fought back and reduced the deficit to 3-4. After the players traded breaks, the set went to a tie-breaker where the top-seed sneaked ahead from 5-5 to win it.
The decider saw Qamar lose concentration after a close call. Suresh capitalised with strong serves and fluent forehands and volleys and closed out the third set 6-4. He pocketed the winner’s cheque of Rs 31,250 and 40 AITA points.
In the women’s final, Chaudhary fought back after a poor start, but Reshma held firm to take the first set 6-4.
The top-seed found her rhythm and dominated the match from the start of the second set with her powerful groundstrokes on both flanks and moving to the net on occasion to force the issue and win the next two sets rather handily.
Indian tennis legend Ramanathan Krishnan and Ravi Appaswamy, Managing Director, Appaswamy Real Estates, gave away prizes in presence of Premkumar Karra, Honorary Secretary, TNTA.
Results: Men’s Singles final: Dakshineshwar Suresh (TN) beat Fardeen Quamar (RAJ) 6-3, 6-7(5), 6-4.
Women’s Singles final: Vaidehi Chaudhry (GUJ) beat Reshma Maruri (KAR) 4-6, 6-1, 6-0. (PTI)
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