The Hindu : Sport / Tennis : Gruel's persistence pays

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Sunday, Jan 16, 2005

Sport

Sport - Tennis

Gruel's persistence pays

By Nandakumar Marar

MUMBAI, JAN. 15. Simon Gruel's grit served him when timing and touch went awry in the $15,000 ITF men's Futures 2005 men's singles final. The vocal German, screaming at himself and questioning line judges, overturned a first-set deficit to win 4-6, 6-3, 6-2 against top-seeded David Sherwood.

Gruel won because of persistence when the odds were stacked against him, in comparison to the smooth-stroking Briton who looked short on motivation when points kept slipping away. The German slugger, ready to take risks with net surges after losing the first set against a versatile rival, struggled to build on service breaks in the second set.

The top seed began with a flourish, control and range of shots from a single-handed backhand rattling his rival. The second seed, becoming aware of limitations on the strokeplay front, worked hard to get the ball back into play with wraparond crosscourt forehands. The singles winner picked up $1,950 and 18 ITF points, the runner-up $1,350 and 12. The doubles champions earned $945 (18) and $495 (12).

Earlier in the semifinals of this MSLTA-sponsored event, the Indian challenge ended on Friday with third seed Prakash Amritraj beaten by Sherwood 2-6, 4-6 and unseeded Karan Rastogi going down in three sets 6-4, 5-7, 4-6 to Gruel. The doubles final went as expected, with Indians Mustafa Ghouse and Vishal Uppal tasting victory.

The results (Indians unless specified):

Singles (final): Simon Gruel (Ger) bt David Sherwood (GBr) 4-6, 6-3, 6-2. Doubles final: Mustafa Ghouse & Vishal Uppal bt Ajay Ramaswamy & Harsh Mankad 6-4, 3-6, 7-6 (7).

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