The Hindu : Sport / Tennis : Harsh Mankad wins with ease

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Sunday, Mar 27, 2005

Sport

Sport - Tennis

Harsh Mankad wins with ease

By K. Keerthivasan

CHENNAI, MARCH 26. The audience enjoyed it. Each time Kamil Capkovic missed a shot against Harsh Mankad, he shouted at himself. Unable to understand the language and keen to know what he spoke, the spectators began to indulge in wisecracks. Because that was all they could do in a totally one-sided final in the Madras Gymkhana Club-ITF men's $15,000 Futures tennis tournament at the club courts here on Saturday. The Slovak hardly put any resistance as Mankad blew away his challenge to win 6-2, 6-1.

The tremendous reach that one saw and the huge serves that troubled the opponents no end suddenly vanished from Capkovic's armament the moment he entered the court for the summit clash. Instead what we saw were weak second serves and uncommon unforced errors, all of which Mankad exploited to his advantage.

In fact, Capkovic started the match with a double fault and promptly lost his serve in the second game and he soon wilted. There was, however, not an iota of difference in Mankad's attitude and game plan today. He was as usual consistent from the backcourt and volleyed when he thought he needed to finish a rally. Every time, Mankad executed a drop volley, he came up trumps. In all, he hardly put a foot wrong.

Spot of bother

The only spot of bother, if one can say so, came when Mankad lost his serve in the fifth game of the first set at 2-3. But Mankad regained focus to go ahead 4-2 with a break in the sixth game.

Capkovic lost his composure in the second game of the second set when the chair umpire overruled a point in Mankad's favour. His downturn began then as he kept repeating the same mistakes. Mankad raced to a 5-0 lead and closed out the match in the seventh game when a Capkovic's forehand went long. "I thought the conditions were tough and humid, and energy-sapping. I knew

I had to stay focussed to win the match," said Mankad, for whom this is his second title this year after winning the Masters leg of the $50,000 Britain Satellite last month.

Mankad received $1950 and Capkovic got $ 1350. The main draw in Bangalore begins on Monday. C.S. Sivanandan, President, Madras Gymkhana Club, gave away prizes.

The results (final):

Harsh Mankad (Ind) bt Kamil Capkovic (Svk) 6-2, 6-1.

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