JOIN USAdrian to take on Ward in final
India’s Saketh Myneni was no match for his higher-ranked opponent as the top-seed Adrian Menendez-Maceiras of Spain recorded a convincing 6-4, 6-4 win to move into the final of the AirAsia Challenger tennis event here on Saturday.
The 29-year-old will take on second-seed James Ward of Great Britain who beat Daniel Nguyen of the United States 3-6, 6-4, 6-3 in the second semifinal at the Karnataka State Lawn Tennis Association stadium.
Struggling to find his rhythm in the tie, the Indian was found wanting in every department of the game as unforced errors, poor net play and faulty serves dotted his play, while Adrian capitalised on his opponent’s mistakes to sail into the final.
The Indian got off to a promising start with his precise serves down the ‘T’ as he pocketed the opening game without much trouble, raising hopes of an upset win. But that was the closest Myneni could come to a solid game as the Indian saw his serve being broken in the third game and later failed to convert three break points in the following game to give Adrian a 3-1 lead in the opening set.
The Spaniard made sure there were no hiccups at his end as he unleashed quality strokes from the baseline to win the set in no time. Though Myneni saved two set points, he couldn’t stop Adrian from stamping his authority as the Spaniard sealed the set with a delightful cross-court winner in the tenth game.
The second set was no different as Myneni once again lapsed into unforced errors and his serves too hit a downward curve. Adrian kept his composure to break the Indian’s serve in the ninth game and later consolidated his position to storm into his third final of the season.
Meanwhile in the other semifinal, Englishman Ward — backed by some fierce serves — rallied from a set down to get the better of Nguyen in a two-hour long tie. Ward, who will be turning out for Great Britain in next month’s Davis Cup final, put up a splendid show to sail through.
Undeterred by his semifinal loss, Myneni paired up with his fellow countryman Sanam Singh to beat wildcard entrants John Paul Fruttero of the United States and India’s N Vijay Sundar Prashanth 5-7, 6-4, 10-2 in the doubles final.
Though the second-seeded Indian combine dropped a closely fought opening set, they came back strong, first to level proceedings in the second and then win the super tie-breaker in impressive fashion. Myneni and Sanam made their intentions clear in the super tie-breaker as they showcased great reflexes and good court movement to go 5-1 up before wrapping up the title.
Results (prefix denotes seedings): Singles (Semifinals): 1-Adrian Menendez-Maceiras (Esp) bt 3-Saketh Myneni (Ind) 6-4, 6-4; 2-James Ward (Gbr) bt Daniel Nguyen (US) 4-6, 6-4, 6-3. Doubles: Final: 2-Saketh Myneni (Ind)/ Sanam Singh (Ind) bt John Paul Fruterro (US)/ Vijay Sundar Prashanth (Ind) 5-7, 6-4, 10-2.