Gajjar completes grand double

Second seed rallies to beat Malik in mens singles title round

Gajjar had earlier won the men’s doubles title partnering Vitali Reshetnikov of Russia on Friday.

Though the singles’ final failed to live up to its expectations, it had its share of captivating moments. There was little to chose between Gajjar (ATP rank 552) and Malik (732), who knew each other’s game well.

If Malik was consistent with his returns and showed superb retrieving abilities, Gajjar approached nets with intent and hit groundstrokes with power.

Gajjar also had a high degree of success with his big first serve, blasting half a dozen aces. “It was a game of punch and counter-punch, and I had to make sure that I did not pull back any punches,” said Gajjar.

Gajjar also showed the ability to rise the level of his game in crunch situations, and going into the decider, he looked sharper of the two, closing in for the kill. Gajjar suffered a major setback in the first set when he dropped his serve in the second game of the match after starting brightly with an ace.

Malik had to retain his serve after that breakthrough, and he did that with little luck.