Crivoi claims title

National champion Jeevan Nedunchezhiyan went down fighting to top seed Victor Crivoi in the ITF men’s Futures event here on Saturday.

Jeevan fought his heart out before losing 6-7(3), 5-7 in the men’s singles summit clash.
In the first set, the Romanian prevailed in the tie breaker as he returned aggressively and consistently on both the flanks.

It could not have been a better start to the second set for Jeevan as he broke Victor in the very first game but only to let go the advantage in the next game. He again broke Victor in the third game and held his own for a 3-1 lead.  The Indian had two breakpoints in the fifth game also but Victor regained his composure and served well to hold.

Jeevan was broken in the eighth game despite blasting two aces as Victor levelled proceedings a 4-4.

At 5-all, Victor comfortably held serve at 40-15, serving three aces to lead 6-5.
In a long drawn 12th game, Victor converted his sixth match point after playing seven deuces to lift the title.