$15K+H ITF Futures, Chennai (March 21)

[Kumar]

'Walk in the park for HM as he Thrashes Wang 62 60'

HM Match…
Met HM before the match and he briefly referred to my loud cheering for KR…As I had to go home for lunch request HM to finish off Wang quickly…

I started off taking notes for this match… But Wang looked like he was in hurry to catch the train/flight to Bangalore and never gave any fight to HM.. In fact at 5-1 in the seventh game, Wang just tossed up the ball and served very slow.. So stopped taking notes after that...

First set-
HM started off breaking Wang with a great drop shot for winner.. And then Harsh had two aces to start off his service game and quickly took a 5-1 lead with Wang holding serve in 3rd game alone… Then Harsh closed off with three aces in 8th game to take first set 6-2…

Second set
This was just a weird set with Wang packing it in and Harsh just clinically hitting winners and aces.. Harsh won the second set 6-0.. At one point I stopped cheering and was even thinking should I cheer Wang … It was just a disappointing match and one elderly person was cribbing that ‘prize money’ should be cut for Wang..

After the match met HM and asked him how it felt when your opponent just mails it in… Harsh was saying that Wang was really giving a effort in the first set.. But once he realized that it was not going to make any different, just mailed it in… He also said there is a possibility that Wang feeling defeat is inevitable decided to at least reach bangalore qualifier quickly.. But he was very happy about staying on the court for least possible duration… When I expressed my disappointment (as I wanted to see HM thrash Wang with Wang playing at his best), HM pointed out smartly that I got what I wanted --- A quick finish…
He also said that Delgado seems to be playing well and though he has beaten him at Chennai, tomorrow is whole another day… And Harsh after 3 matches under his belt is now getting used to the surface and is more comfortable...

[vishnureddy]

Wow Kumar great reports :noteworthy:

C'mon Harsh and Karan , make it an all-Indian final

[jaydeep]

Kumar even before starting to read ur reports I m saluting u for this amazing work ...

Jaydeep.

[jaydeep]

Superb report Kumar ... Karan again showed his fighting quality ... He is showing his maturity and mental toughness in match by match ... From Kumar's report it shows he is also mastering in controling the game and pace of the match ... Thats great sign for Indian tennis ... Hopefully tomorrow Karan doesn't affect by fatigue of playing all long matches in hot weather.

Our BEB is in tremendous form ... So Wang's submission wasn't surprising as he wants to play in Banglore so he was more interested in signing qualifying ... ... Harsh will be fresh against Delgado and that will help in the match.

Go karan and Harsh ... Please make our wish fulfill ... And make it all Indian final!!!

Jaydeep.

[jayakris]

Yeah, great work, Karan! .. He is now beginning to play without feeling any pressure of anything. Picking up points, moving up the rank, not feeling a need to prove anything to anybody and just enjoying his tennis. Somehow, for various reasons throughout his junior career he has not been able to do that. The injuries, the occasional dip in form etc had (in my opinion) prevented him from playing his natural talented tennis - unlike Sania, who almost never seemed to be under pressure in her career, having pulled off those key wins and titles at regular intervals. Things seem to be all changing with Karan. That is terrific. 8 more points to add to the 4 last week. 25 points totla now. Rank goes up 150 spots to about #660 from the current 812 in two weeks!!

Good day at the office from Harsh. When his serve is working, he is very tough to beat. Isn't it cool to see him hit that many aces with a serve that nobody consides a weapon, but in my view has been a big strength since the middle of last year? .. He seems to have learned how to come up with an ace or service winner at frequent intervals to help his game. His point total goes up to a career-high 128 and the rank will go up about 10-12 spots up from #299. HM is definitely somewhat ahead of where he expected to be at this point, starting the year at #360 and having to defend a good number of points in the first three months. And he still has some events left at the futures level to grab a bunch of more points and get inside a safe top-250 for good planning for the rest of the year after April. Fabulous.

As for Rohan, well don't worry. He too picked up 4 more points and he will be a real force in Bangalore next week after another 3-4 days of rest, which is perfect. I really did not want to see him play more than a couple of matches last week and 3 or so this week. Looks like the shoulder is all perfectly fine.

We've got to be very upbeat about Indian tennis now. Hope Kash also is fine and gets into the mix of things next week.

Jay

[Kumar]

Jaydeep thanx for all your compliments... I am really having a helluva good time especially with Indians doing well... If their performance had been so-so the reports would have been boring, so all credit probably goes to RB, HM and especially KR who played some thrilling matchess...Anyway Bofors report to follow either late today or tomorrow...

Doubles Results

Bofors/Kannan - 63 64 winners over Ajay/vishal
I.Cerovic/ K.Gruber 61 62 winner over KR/Ashutosh

I missed the match and when I went to the club talked with Karan's coach...

According to him, Looks like KR was really tired and this Affected Ashutosh also and they didn't put up much of a fight... Physio was working out and stretching Karan.. Sanjay (KR's coach) was little worried about the slew of three setters Karan has been playing.. He felt confident that if Karan was fully fresh, he will beat capkovic.. Capkovic has a great serve and if he gets going, it will be tough for Karan..

As to Karan's schedule, he is slated to go to colombo and then Phuket... After that not sure..

Talked with Bofors about the doubles match, and like a good pro, Bofors had sized them up.. He was talking about how the two guys play a lot from baseline... So should be an interesting finals..

[Kumar]

Heartbreaker for Bofors

This game was taking place at the same time as KR… So was not followed as well !!!

First set – Nothing much to write here.. Bofors was just on a roll and whitewashed Capkovic.. who was having difficulty with his second serve.. 6-0 Bofors

Second set –
Bofors was broken in the first game .. But came right back to break Cap in the fourth game to even the set at 2-2 apiece… Bofors was still serving well and had two aces in the fifth game to take 3-2 lead… Cap changes shirt to see if his luck will change.. And change of shirt seemed to work as he held serve comfortably.. After a DF and couple of errors Bofors was down a BP in 9th game.. But with an ace was able to stave off one BP But DF at another BP proved to be turning point of the match as Bofors was broken again, Cap taking 5-4 lead.. Then the game of the match .. With cap serving, this game went to 6 deuces and Cap saving two BPs !!! After six deuces, Cap closed off this game to take the second set 6-4..

Third Set
After breaking Cap in the fourth game, BP took a 4-1 lead into 6th game.. But in the 7th game, Bofors was broken again to fritter away the advantage.. 4-3.. After hold of serve, Bofors was in big trouble again in the 11th game serving 3 double faults in a row leading to BP.. He later attributed to wind on one side of the court, due to which his toss for the kick serve was really affected.. But he fought back to take the game to deuce and hold of serve… Cap easily held serve to take this game to Tie breaker

Tie Breaker
Cap really dominated the Tie breaker with Bofors looking very tired !!! And won the Tie break 7-2 to take the match 06, 64 76(2)..

Bofors was done in by his lack of match practice.. But still a great show from Bofors for getting couple of wins under his belt… After the match Bofors took an hour rest and came back fully reacharged to get a doubles win... He seemed happy with his performance (though little disappointed that he couldn't close the deal)

Capkovic has very good serve when it is falling (lot of DFs too) and would be a tough opponent for Karan…

[jaydeep]

Another superb report Kumar ... Yes Rohan failed becoz of lack of match practice ... But he performed quite well ... And as Jay mentioned he will be very dangerous floater in B'lore draw ... Wishing him good luck for doubles title.

Karan's doubles loss understandable considering how much he played in last few days ... Hopefully he will be recover in time for tomorrow's match.

Jaydeep.

[kiran r more]

The guys who were saying Indian mens tennis is on the death bed,should wake up.Harsh is playing at his peak,Prakash is on his way up,Rohan is back, and then Karan is now showing why he is called the future of Indian Tennis.As once it was mentioned in the forum,the transition in Indian ladies tennis is complete,with Sania and Shikha peaking and Neha also coming along well.Now the transition in Mens tennis is on the way.Leander will be very happy that he now has four good players to bank upon.

Jay,as for comparing Karan and Sania,I fully agree with you.Sania was very consistent through out her junior career and now at this level.Karan was not that consistent,for whatever reasons.But the fact is Karan had better results than Sania,as far as quality tournaments and opponents were concerned,at the junior level.As I had already mentioned once, I have been following the growth of these two best Indian Players for a long time and you will be surprised to know that they have almost an identical growth pattern,--Sania always took the first step,then Karan took a bigger step,then Sania took a leap,and then Karan took a bigger leap.It has been going on for the last 6 years.I am in the process of preparing a comparison of these two ,because I love these two kids.Sania is already very much on her way to the top.And ,if my analysis is correct,Karan will catch up with her ,by the end of 2006.

[jayakris]

ITF's official score spreadsheet says RB lost 46 in the 3rd set and not in a tiebreaker! .. Wonder what was up with that .. Jay

[Kumar]

4 was the score from Karan's match.. They probably got it mixed... But I can give you iron-clad guarantee that it went to Tiebreaker.. We should get confirmation from Hindu shortly...

[jayakris]

OK, I am sure Puneet Gupta (ITF supervisor at Chennai) would correct it later... You could mention to him, just in case he has not noticed.

Jay

[PKBasu]

Fabulous performance by Karan to beat the rising star Istomin. Karan is now playing very much like Sania was in June-August last year. This was always destined to happen to this hugely talented player, and I'm delighted that he's living up to the potential we've seen in him for years. (Ofcourse he has fulfilled some of this potential before, notably two years ago -- but this time his arrival looks more secure and sustainable!).

And what a marvellous, clinical demolition by Harsh. He too is playing at a considerably higher level now, and I hope it will show in the rematch with Delgado, who will certainly be under some psychological pressure.

The real story though is the emergence of the new centre of Indian tennis excellence: Mumbai. Both our semifinalists at Chennai are Mumbaikars. When I met Harsh and his team in Mumbai in January, he and Karan were constantly SMS-ing each other, trying to tie up various practice opportunities. Good to see the two friends doing so well together here!!

And thanks again, Kumar, for amazingly good reporting.

[BSharma]

First of all, thanks Kumar for your superb reporting.

Congratulations to Harsh and Karan for their victories.

Keep your chin high, Bofors. Your time is coming soon. Hang in there.

[PKBasu]

Hey, there's nothing for RB to be ashamed or disappointed about. He won the first set 6-0, showing just how explosive his game is at the moment. After such a long injury lay-off, his stamina probably needs a bit of slight fine-tuning, but his form seems scintillating.
And he's in the doubles final too!!