The Hindu : Sport / Tennis : Aqeel is champion

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Sunday, Sep 12, 2004

Sport

Sport - Tennis

Aqeel is champion

By A. Joseph Antony

Ajay Ramaswamy and Mustafa Ghouse of India who won the doubles title beating Chris Kwon (U.S.) and Tai Wei Lui (Taipei). — Photo: P.V. Sivakumar

HYDERABAD, SEPT. 11. Setting aside a first set loss, Aqeel Khan lived up to his favourite status, clinching the International Tennis Federation Futures crown with a convincing win over Tai Wei Liu 6-7(5), 6-1, 6-1 in the men's singles final at the Sports Authority of Andhra Pradesh complex here on Saturday.

Bolstered by a break, up 5-3 and leading 30-0, Aqeel admitted later that he had slackened a bit and let that first set slide out of hand.

Thereafter, the mistakes were minimal as was the backswing, disguising Aqeel's strokes well, leaving him the option of going for a down-the-line shot when a cross-court hit was expected. The patent double-fisted forehand gave him greater control as it did power. The returns were flatter in trajectory, laced with quite a bit of backspin

With a superior repertoire, Khan chipped cleanly, chiselling away at the Taipei player's top-spun drives, that packed power but often tended to stray over the rival baseline or got caught in the net. An open-faced racquet found the ball ballooning out a shade too frequently. The excessive punch to his strokes saw Liu's unforced errors pile up, which proved to be his undoing ultimately.

As is the case with big-built players, the power wasn't going to last long and Liu began to show signs of fatigue early in the second set. By the third, he'd visibly run out of steam.

Khan acknowledged the unstinted support he received from the Pakistan Tennis Federation who had stood by him, as also his sponsor, Pizza Hut. He hadn't gone into this game with any plan, but had observed Liu in Davis Cup action in the past.

Indian duo triumphs

Those performances in his homeland and this triumph should have helped him crack the ATP 400, he surmised. On Sunday, Khan departs for another Futures event at Delhi and then will join the Pakistan squad for its Davis Cup campaign against and in New Zealand.

Sumitha Dawra, Vice-Chairperson and Managing Director, Sports Authority of Andhra Pradesh gave away the winner's cheque for $1,600 to Khan and $1,000 to Liu, in addition to the trophies.

In the doubles final, India's Mustafa Ghouse and Ajay Ramaswami got the better of Chris Kwon of the US and Tai Wei Liu, 6-3, 7-6(3).

The results (finals): Singles: Aqeel Khan (Pak) bt Tai Wei Liu (Tpe) 6-7(5), 6-1, 6-1.

Doubles: Mustafa Ghouse/Ajay Ramaswami bt Chris Kwon/Tai Wei Liu 6-3, 7-6(3).

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