The Hindu : Sport / Tennis : Divij pips Aqeel for ITF title

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Saturday, Sep 02, 2006

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Divij pips Aqeel for ITF title

Special Correspondent

Divij Sharan. — FILE PHOTO: Sandeep Saxena

NEW DELHI: Divij Sharan defeated the top seed Aqeel Khan of Pakistan 7-5, 6-4 in the final of the ITF Satellite circuit Masters at the DLTA Complex here on Friday.

The 20-year-old local lad lost the first five games in a jiffy, but fought bravely in reeling off nine games on the trot to swing the balance in his favour.

The fourth-seeded Divij played so well that Aqeel had to face the ignominy of dropping his serve six times in the space of seven service games.

Dramatic

There was some drama in the end when Divij got broken while serving for the match in the eighth game of the second set, as the 26-year-old Aqeel came up with a few delectable passing shots.

However, Divij served and volleyed with elan to close out the match in the 10th game.

"It is amazing,'' said Divij after the match, as he looked back at his two successive titles in the second part of the four-week circuit after he had won only one match in the first two weeks.

The impressive effort helped Divij take his collection to 56 circuit points that fetched him 36 ATP points, including a bonus of four ATP points for finishing runner-up in the circuit.

"The most important thing now is to build on this foundation, rather than allow it to pass by. I know that I can get better and am looking forward to making my game stronger,'' said Divij.

The winner was presented $800 and the runner-up $600.

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