The Hindu : Sport / Tennis : Harsh Mankad enters final, meets Capkovic

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Saturday, Mar 26, 2005

Sport

Sport - Tennis

Harsh Mankad enters final, meets Capkovic

By K. Keerthivasan

CHENNAI, MARCH 25. There is much more to Harsh Mankad's game than mere angles and depth of shots. He is one player who constantly works on his strengths and weaknesses. Unfortunately, even now many dismiss the 26-year-old saying he lacks the height (5'8") and the power to become a world-class player. But what many miss is his ability and an intelligence to optimise his strong areas. Unfazed, he goes on.

In the semifinals of the Madras Gymkhana Club-ITF men's $15,000 tennis tournament at the club courts here on Friday, Mankad gave yet another fine exhibition of court coverage and effective backcourt play to defeat Jamie Delgado of Britain, the third seed, 7-5, 3-0. The Brit conceded complaining of dehydration.

The tenuous hopes of an all-India clash, however, were belied as a lean and tall Kamil Capkovic of Slovakia overcame a visibly tired Karan Rastogi 6-4, 6-2 in an hour and 27 minutes.

Mankad remembers how he played against Delgado (he beat the Brit) in the final qualifying round of the Chennai ATP Open, and there too Mankad had learnt a lesson. He said: "In the Chennai Open, he attacked me more on my forehand and won some points. After that I worked on that and ensured that this time he was not successful."

Tough fight

Mankad asserted himself from the backcourt, even though Delgado displayed his prowess putting up a tough fight. In the baseline battle, Mankad's effort bore fruit as he ran up a 4-1 lead. But Delgado fought back, thanks to a series of unforced errors from Mankad. Delgado got the crucial break in the seventh game and levelled at 4-4.

However, Mankad applied pressure on Delgado in the twelfth game. The Brit made several unforced errors, was broken and lost the first set. Down by three games in the second, Delgado conceded.

In the other semifinal, Slovakia's Capkovic got the better of a tired Rastogi. Rastogi's fitness had taken a beating, having played an energy-sapping match against Uzbek Denis Istomin on Thursday and also the doubles, teaming up with Ashutosh Singh, the same evening. Yet, the 18-year-old did make an effort as he came back from 2-5 to 4-5 in the first set. But that was not enough as he lost in straight sets.

The final on Saturday will see Capkovic, on his maiden visit to India, keen to bag his second Futures title but Mankad, though, appears to have the edge.

Rohan Bopanna-Vijay Kannan pair wins

The Indian pair of Rohan Bopanna and Vijay Kannan clinched its sixth doubles title with a

hard-fought 6-4, 3-6, 7-6(5) win over Ivan Cerovic (Croatia) and Konstantin Gruber(Austria).

Having taken the first set with a lone break of Gruber's serve in the seventh game, the Indian pair had a tough time in the second with Cerovic serving wonderfully well.

With a 4-2 lead, the left-right combination of Cerovic and Gruber took charge in the second.

It was a struggle in the decider and the Indians heaved a sigh of relief after winning a close tie-breaker. The winning pair received $ 945 while the runner-up got $ 495.

The results (Indians unless specified):

Singles (semifinals): Harsh Mankad bt Jamie Delgado (Gbr) 7-5, 3-0 (conceded); Kamil Capkovic (Svk) bt Karan Rastogi 6-4, 6-2.

Doubles (final): Rohan Bopanna &Vijay Kannan bt Ivan Cerovic (Cro) & Konstantin Gruber (Aut) 6-4, 3-6,7-6 (5).

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