Mochizuki survives McCabe test

Bengaluru: James McCabe put himself on the line and threw everything he had. On the other side of the court, Shintaro Mochizuki did much the same. 

The first semifinal duel of the Bengaluru Open saw both the 21-year-olds showcasing resilience and grit to keep the crowd on the edge of their seats with several moments of oohs and aahs.  

In the end, McCabe’s powerful game and fight were not good enough to overcome Mochizuki’s retrieving skills and stability as the latter eked out a 6-1, 3-6, 6-4 victory to enter the final at the Karnataka State Lawn Tennis Association (KSLTA) courts. 

The seventh-seeded Mochizuki getting to every ball throughout the match was so top-notch that even McCabe couldn’t help but applaud his opponent in one of the many quality points the two shared in their 2-hour 23-minute encounter.  

Rarely losing control in his shot-making, Japan’s Mochizuki overwhelmed Australia’s McCabe by making him run from one corner to the other. McCabe was allowed to hold only the opening game and was broken in the rest of his three service games for Mochizuki to clinch the opening set. 

The Aussie, a musician who has played in orchestras growing up, took time to get tuned in but found his rhythm and beat in the second. McCabe, more aware of the returning balls, used angles and injected power to finally find a breakthrough in the seventh game to go up 4-3. 

Losing his equilibrium midway wasn’t helping Mochizuki’s purpose, as McCabe took his chances to win the set and stay alive when his opponents’ backhand return found the net. 

Mochizuki, the World No. 167 and a self-proclaimed karaoke singer, got back into sync once again at the start of the third which made things difficult for McCabe. Racing away to a 3-1 lead, the Kawasaki-born player’s double-handed backhand stung the hardest. McCabe hit back to equalise 3-3 but Mochizuki held a tight seventh to inch ahead 4-3 before both the players pulled out all the stops.

An eight game lasting 23 minutes 59 seconds was a test of each other’s character, technique, fitness and belief. With no one letting go, Mochizuki managed to save two break points, squander four game points before converting on his fifth chance to hold the lead at 5-3. 

With everything but their fighting spirit drained out, McCabe held on to his serve in the ninth to challenge Mochizuki on his serve in the 10th which the Japanese accepted and won on his second match point.

In the other last-four contest, USA’s Brandon Holt came out with a game plan and delivered a straight-set 6-2, 7-6 (4) win over Great Britain’s Billy Harris. 

The third-seeded American was solid from the baseline to keep the big-hitting Brit at bay. The straight-forward affair saw Holt break Harris twice (4th and 8th) to clinch the first set. 

Putting up a much-needed resistance in the second, lucky loser Harris remained on par with Holt to take the set to a tie-breaker. However, there was little to stop the 144th-ranked Holt from reaching his second consecutive final. 

Results: Singles: Semifinals (prefix denotes seedings): Shintaro Mochizuki (Jpn) bt James McCabe (Aus) 6-1, 3-6, 6-4; 3-Brandon Holt (USA) bt Billy Harris (GBR) 6-2, 7-6 (4). 

Doubles (final): 1-Anirudh Chandrasekar (Ind)/ Ray Ho (Tpe) bt 2-Blake Bayldon/ Matthew Christopher Romios (Aus) 6-2, 6-4.