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Tennis
By Vijay Parthasarathy
THE CHAMP: Dimitri Mazur of Uzbekistan, who won the title in the TNTA-ITF Futures tournament in Chennai on Saturday. - Photo: M. Moorthy
CHENNAI, MARCH 6. They claim statistics don't lie. Well, you can't blame them, really. Mathematicians aren't known for their contingency plans. After all, it is not often that you see someone serve more than twenty aces in a three-set tennis match — and then, lose. Filip Urban played against a lowly qualifier today, one ranked some 200 places below him. An easy win it was for the Pole, you presume; one that left him grinning vaguely, and making a speech in broken English. But in the end, Urban was only as good as his last expletive. Dimitri Mazur of Uzbekistan won the $10,000 TNTA-ITF Futures singles title at the Nungambakkam tennis stadium on Saturday, defeating his higher ranked opponent 7-6 (7-3), 2-6, 6-4 in a little over two hours. Urban's 6' 1'' frame packs the power of a rampaging herd of bulls — give or take a couple of elephants. A random glance at the numbers from Saturday's scorecard should impress you: the Pole served 22 aces against Mazur's two; and committed four double faults against the latter's five. He even won more games — 16 — compared to Mazur's 15. What proved decisive was the fact that Urban committed almost double the number of unforced errors as the Uzbek. Mazur — who beat the top seed Todor Enev in the first round — subtly hinted at what was to come when he broke Urban's serve at 15 in the very first game of the match. The Pole seemed out of groove, and the 865th-ranked Uzbek consolidated his position, taking a 4-2 lead. Mazur had the chance to go 5-2 up, but his opponent unleashed a flurry of aces to hold serve. In the ninth game, however, Mazur was broken, after a double-fisted backhand crashed into the net. Two games later, Urban found himself a mere two points away from winning the first set. Mazur held on grimly. Two double-faults in the tie-breaker ensured the Pole lost it at three, and the first set, 7-6. Mazur possibly got a little over-confident at this stage. Maybe, he relaxed a little. Whatever the reason, he lost the first game on his serve at love, and was broken once again in the seventh game. Urban served with a bland determination; his groundstrokes pushed deeper, and Mazur struggled to keep pace. Urban won the set easily, 6-2. The third set might remind you of The Wheel of Fortune, or some equally twisted television game-show. Mazur took an early 4-1 lead. At 4-2, 30 all, Mazur came up with possibly the shot of the match — an expansive, on-the-move forehand crosscourt pass, taken at full-stretch that left Urban gaping at the net. At 5-2 Urban saved one match-point with a huge serve, possibly his quickest. A deep volley saved a second; and a smash, set up by another big serve saved the third consecutive match point. A double fault gave Mazur a fourth; but two more aces fixed things for Urban. The drama took a sadistic twist, when Mazur found himself broken in the next game; it was now the Uzbek's turn to resort to histrionics. The score: 5-4, final set, in favour of Mazur, with the Pole to serve. 15-0. Urban's tense grip eased a little; he might have whistled through his teeth, in relief. He then promptly netted an easy volley, and almost immediately hit a return out, to set up an anti-climax. Mazur struck up another match point after an Urban lob went sailing over. The match ended when Urban sent a forehand long. Mazur won $1,300 in prize money, while Urban, also the doubles runner-up, earned $900 for his singles performance. The scores: Singles final: Dimitri Mazur bt Filip Urban 7-6 (7-3), 2-6, 6-4.
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