The Hindu : Sport / Tennis : Aqeel prevails over Vinod

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Sunday, Oct 10, 2004

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Sport - Tennis

Aqeel prevails over Vinod

By Kamesh Srinivasan

RIGHT MOVES: It was a fruitful outing for Sanaa Bhambri in the DSCL Open National in New Delhi on Saturday. - Photo: S. Subramanium

NEW DELHI, OCT. 9. It was mission accomplished for different folks with different stakes. For Aqeel Khan of Pakistan it was a proud moment to win the National championship in India, and for local girl Sanaa Bhambri it was a tremendous statement to win a triple crown.

There was, of course, no dispute about the supremacy of the 24-year-old Aqeel or the 16-year-old Sanaa, as the two won the men's and women's titles respectively in the DSCL National tennis championship at the DLTA Complex here on Saturday.

For the top-seeded Aqeel who had not won a title in Delhi despite having played four weeks of international tournaments here, it was a joy to win the crown, as he tamed the second-seeded Vinod Sridhar 4-6, 7-5, 6-2, 6-1 in two hours and 28 minutes.

Aqeel was troubled initially by the intense play of Vinod, but once he gauged the left-hander, the Pakistani played with his usual robust energy and composure, even as the Indian lad started limping around, troubled by a pulled muscle near the left groin.

Vinod fought hard to break Aqeel in the ninth game of the first set, and had to sweat in converting the fifth setpoint on his serve in the next game in pocketing the first set. The proceedings were on even keel as Aqeel saved two breakpoints in the ninth game of the second set. However, Vinod, who himself saved a breakpoint in the tenth game, got broken in the 12th game of the second set.

Once he dropped serve in the second game of the third set with a doublefault on breakpoint, after missing a simple `put away' on the previous point, it was a tall order for the ONGC employee from Chennai, who had lost to Divij Sharan in the semifinals of the last edition.

"I had pain midway through the second set and was hardly able to move. I was two steps too slow, and hoped that the pain would reduce by the fourth set. It did not. I was playing with confidence, and am disappointed with what has happened,'' said Vinod.

Marcus Hilpert of Germany was the last foreigner to win the national singles title in India, and he did so on grasscourts in Kolkata for two successive years.

A matter of pride

For Sanaa Bhambri, it was protecting the family pride. Her elder sister Ankita Bhambri had won the singles title last year, and Sanaa ably defended the honour. Sanaa quelled a spirited challenge from Sonal Phadke with poise in the evening, after a spell of rain.

It was equally important for Sanaa to win the girls title in the morning, as she had lost the final the previous year. She had a stiff challenge from Parul Goswami but once she broke the latter's resistance, Sanaa could conserve herself for the more serious battle later in the day.

Like in the last edition, Sanaa had also won the women's doubles title, to make it a memorable triple crown for herself. Vivek Shokeen won the junior boys title as he beat the top-seeded Rupesh Roy in three sets. It was the third title in as many weeks for Vivek, who had won the ITF junior titles in Mumbai and Gurgaon over the last fortnight.

The results (finals):

Men: Aqeel Khan (Pak) bt Vinod Sridhar 4-6, 7-5, 6-2, 6-1; Women: Sanaa Bhambri bt Sonal Phadke 6-3, 3-6, 6-4; Boys: Vivek Shokeen bt Rupesh Roy 6-2, 3-6, 6-2; Girls: Sanaa Bhambri bt Parul Goswami 7-5, 6-1.

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