Sanam edges out Balaji for title

Second seed Sanam Singh claimed the men’s singles title with a 6-2, 7-6 (7-4) victory over top seed Sriram Balaji in the ITF Davangere Open tennis here on Saturday.

Sanam stamped his class with a strong first serve and consistent groundstrokes and volleys. Balaji made a late surge in the match but his gallant bid fell short in the tie-breaker.

A tentative Balaji dropped his serve in the very first game of the match with a couple of mishits and a double fault.

Sanam seized the advantage to power ahead before Balaji dropped his serve again in the seventh game, allowing his rival to take a 5-2 lead. Sanam served out comfortably to pocket the first set and edged ahead in the second with a break of serve in the seventh game for a 4-3 lead.

Balaji, however, hit back to level scores and with the games going with serves, the set headed for a tie-breaker. The US-based Sanam pulled ahead in the tie-breaker, winning it 7-4 to seal the match.

Sanam received $1300 while Balaji took home $900.