<p>Bengaluru: If the power and bounce coming off of Keegan Smith’s racquet were too much to handle for Philip Sekulic, it was evident that the former’s unflappable presence intimidated the latter’s hyper self. The opponents, battling their own kind of nerves, were vying to get the better of the other at the final of the Karnataka Open ATP 50 Challenger here on Saturday. </p>.<p>During the match that lasted one hour and 20 minutes, fourth-seeded Sekulic was often found frantically searching for a lifeline before pulling out every shot in his bag and hurling it on the opposite side of the court. </p><p>That sort of panic from the Australian, in the end, failed to rescue him as the top-seeded Smith’s well-rounded game and alert mind gave him a 6-2, 7-5 victory to lift the winners’ trophy at the SM Krishna <a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/tags/tennis">Tennis</a> Stadium. </p>.Karnataka Open: Aussie Sekulic ends tired Kriish Tyagi’s run to set up final against Smith.<p>Though it was Australian Sekulic who broke the American Smith as early as the third game of the first set, that slender advantage was snatched back in the very next game for Smith to level the proceedings 2-2. </p>.<p>Sekulic, who was struggling with his first serve and inconsistent groundstrokes, once again became prey when Smith broke the sixth game to go ahead 4-2. The lead saw the 6-foot-7-inch American’s confidence swell to win the opener 6-2. </p>.<p>In the beginning of the second set too, the 22-year-old Sekulic appeared desperate to find his A game. Just when it looked like the relaxed Smith — whose execution was simple and effective — was cruising, Sekulic got his act together to once again get the first break to go up 4-3. </p>.<p>Fired up after the midway blip, Smith raised the bar to become his attacking best to break back in the eighth to level 4-4. Sekulic’s late surge helped him hold two more games. </p><p>But the 27-year-old Smith, eager not to take the match to the decider, stepped up one last time in the 12th game to break Sekulic and win the set and match. </p>.<p><strong>Niki-Myneni lift title</strong></p>.<p>Joy for the hosts came in the form of Niki Kaliyanda Poonacha and Saketh Myneni, who defeated Petr Bar Biryukov of Russia and Grigoriy Lomakin of Kazakhstan to lift the doubles’ title. </p>.Karnataka Open: Kriish Tyagi fights his way into semifinals.<p>The <a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/karnataka-india">Karnataka</a>-Andhra Pradesh pair scored a straight-set 6-2, 6-3 win. It was an extra delight for Poonacha as it was his first title while playing in Bengaluru. </p>.<p><strong>Results: </strong>Finals (prefix denotes seedings): Singles: 1-Keegan Smith (USA) bt 4-Philip Sekulic (Aus) 6-2, 7-5.</p>.<p>Doubles: Niki Kaliyanda Poonacha/ Saketh Myneni (Ind) bt Petr Bar Biryukov/ Grigoriy Lomakin (Kaz) 6-2, 6-3.</p>
<p>Bengaluru: If the power and bounce coming off of Keegan Smith’s racquet were too much to handle for Philip Sekulic, it was evident that the former’s unflappable presence intimidated the latter’s hyper self. The opponents, battling their own kind of nerves, were vying to get the better of the other at the final of the Karnataka Open ATP 50 Challenger here on Saturday. </p>.<p>During the match that lasted one hour and 20 minutes, fourth-seeded Sekulic was often found frantically searching for a lifeline before pulling out every shot in his bag and hurling it on the opposite side of the court. </p><p>That sort of panic from the Australian, in the end, failed to rescue him as the top-seeded Smith’s well-rounded game and alert mind gave him a 6-2, 7-5 victory to lift the winners’ trophy at the SM Krishna <a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/tags/tennis">Tennis</a> Stadium. </p>.Karnataka Open: Aussie Sekulic ends tired Kriish Tyagi’s run to set up final against Smith.<p>Though it was Australian Sekulic who broke the American Smith as early as the third game of the first set, that slender advantage was snatched back in the very next game for Smith to level the proceedings 2-2. </p>.<p>Sekulic, who was struggling with his first serve and inconsistent groundstrokes, once again became prey when Smith broke the sixth game to go ahead 4-2. The lead saw the 6-foot-7-inch American’s confidence swell to win the opener 6-2. </p>.<p>In the beginning of the second set too, the 22-year-old Sekulic appeared desperate to find his A game. Just when it looked like the relaxed Smith — whose execution was simple and effective — was cruising, Sekulic got his act together to once again get the first break to go up 4-3. </p>.<p>Fired up after the midway blip, Smith raised the bar to become his attacking best to break back in the eighth to level 4-4. Sekulic’s late surge helped him hold two more games. </p><p>But the 27-year-old Smith, eager not to take the match to the decider, stepped up one last time in the 12th game to break Sekulic and win the set and match. </p>.<p><strong>Niki-Myneni lift title</strong></p>.<p>Joy for the hosts came in the form of Niki Kaliyanda Poonacha and Saketh Myneni, who defeated Petr Bar Biryukov of Russia and Grigoriy Lomakin of Kazakhstan to lift the doubles’ title. </p>.Karnataka Open: Kriish Tyagi fights his way into semifinals.<p>The <a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/karnataka-india">Karnataka</a>-Andhra Pradesh pair scored a straight-set 6-2, 6-3 win. It was an extra delight for Poonacha as it was his first title while playing in Bengaluru. </p>.<p><strong>Results: </strong>Finals (prefix denotes seedings): Singles: 1-Keegan Smith (USA) bt 4-Philip Sekulic (Aus) 6-2, 7-5.</p>.<p>Doubles: Niki Kaliyanda Poonacha/ Saketh Myneni (Ind) bt Petr Bar Biryukov/ Grigoriy Lomakin (Kaz) 6-2, 6-3.</p>