JOIN USDavis Cupper Sanam Singh bagged his second title in as many weeks, reigning supreme in the $10,000 ITF Dharwad Open here on Saturday.
Sanam, who emerged victorious in the ITF Davangere Open last week, warding off a spirited challenge from Tamil Nadu’s Ram Kumar Ramanathan 6-2, 7-6 (7-4) here at the DDTA courts.
The victory fetched him $1,300 and 18 ranking points, while Ramanathan pocketed $900 besides collecting 12 ranking points.
Appearing in his maiden final, Ramanthan was tentative at the start and the experienced Sanam cashed in finely. The 23-year-old broke Ramanathan in the very first game of the match before going on the dominate the set, winning it rather comfortably after breaking Ramanathan once again in the seventh game.
Ramanathan, however, quickly put the opening set disappointment behind him. He found his rhythm and range in the second that has seen him cause some surprise in the tournament en route to the final appearance. Varying his pace and angles, he had a great chance to break Sanam in the sixth game after forcing three deuces and even mustering a break point.
But Sanam didn’t cave in, managing to hold his serve before going on break Ramanathan in the ninth game for a 5-4 lead. Slapped with a code violation that cost him his serve (ninth game), Ramanathan regained his composure in quick time to break Sanam back and level things at 5-5.
In the tie-breaker, Sanam clawed his way back from a 0-4 deficit to win the set and the match.