Asian Games silver medallist Ramkumar Ramanathan warded off a tough challenge from third seed Digvijay Pratap Singh in an all-Indian final to emerge champion in the ITF Dharwad Men’s World Tennis Tour here on Sunday.
The fourth seed, Ramanathan, beat Digvijay 7-6 (5), 7-6 (6) to pocket the winner’s cheque of USD 3600 and 20 ATP points.
Digvijay returned with USD 2120 and 12 ATP points from the Dharwad District Lawn Tennis Association courts.
This was the first time these two players were meeting each other, and the contest remained intense as there was no service break during the entire duration of the match.
In a closely contested first set, Ramanathan’s aggressive approach paid off as he won it in a tie-break.
In the second set tie-break, Digvijay had built a 4-1 lead, but a few unforced errors nullified his advantage as Ramanathan eventually prevailed over his younger opponent. “I had been struggling with my game for the last few weeks. Capping off with a win gives me the much-needed confidence heading into my future tournaments,” said Ramanathan after the final. Later, the Karnataka State Lawn Tennis Association (KSLTA) felicitated Ramanathan for winning the men’s doubles silver medal at the Hangzhou Asian Games and presented him with a cheque of Rs 1 lakh.
