JOIN USTamil Nadu lad Jayaprakash Mohit Mayur overpowered veteran Nitten Kirrtane in straight sets to clinch the men’s singles title at the Central Excise Open AITA Grass Court Tennis Championship here on Saturday.
Mayur won 6-3, 6-2 with ease. In the women’s singles, top seed Natasha Palha of Goa faced stiff resistance from qualifier Bhuvana Kalva of Andhra Pradesh before prevailing 6-3, 6-7 (2), 6-2 in a 2-hour and 20-minute battle.
In the men’s singles, the fifth seed Mayur broke 38-year-old Kirrtane at 3-2 in the first set and went on to take a 5-2 lead by holding his own before wrapping the first set 6-3. In the second, Mayur gave very little hope to former national champion, taking a 5-1 lead.
Kirrtane went on to hold his serve but succumbed to the hard-hitting Mayur in the very next game, allowing Mayur to grab the title by 6-3, 6-2 as the latter earned 50 singles ranking points.
The Maharashtra veteran overcame the disappointment of losing the singles crown when he claimed the doubles title with young Sagar Manjanna of Karnataka.
The unseeded duo upset the second seed and local favourite Saurav Sukul and Rupesh Roy 6-1, 2-6, 10-8 in a close battle.