Chandril Sood staged a remarkable comeback to oust top seed Nitten Kirrtane 4-6, 6-1, 7-6 (7-2) in the semifinals of the DS MAX AITA tennis tournament at the KSLTA Stadium here on Friday.
In the final, Sood will face second seed Mohit Mayur, who brushed aside the challenge of Rishabdev Raman 6-1, 6-1.
Kirrtane had Sood on the mat, leading 5-2 in the final set but he squandered the lead and lost the momentum before losing in the tie-breaker 7-2. Kirrtane had seemed in control after he pocketed the first set. Sood was losing his cool and arguing with the umpire and it looked like he had pressed the self-destruct button.
But the UP player dragged himself back into the encounter as his punchy ground strokes repeatedly caught Kirrtane on the wrong foot. He soon broke his serve to go 3-1 up before taking the second set 6-1. Kirrtane was in command in the decider but Sood got his backhand working to seal Kirrtane’s fate.
The unseeded Adnya Naik continued her fine form by thrashing Smriti Joon 6-1, 6-1 to enter the women’s singles final. She will face the second seed Sai Samhitha, who won after her opponent Riya Bhatia withdrew while trailing 3-6 because of a troublesome shoulder.
Results (semifinals): Men’s singles: Chandril Sood bt Nitten Kirrtane 4-6, 6-1, 7-6 (7-2); Mohit Mayur bt Rishabdev Raman 6-1, 6-1.
Women’s singles: Adnya Naik bt Smriti Joon 6-1, 6-1; Sai Samhitha bt Riya Bhatia 6-3 (retd).