By IANS,
New Delhi : Top seed Ranjeet Virali Murugesan outclassed teenager Sriram Balaji Narayanaswamy 6-3, 6-4 to become the DSCL men’s tennis national champion at the DLTA courts here Saturday.
The 23-year-old from Tamil Nadu did not drop a set in the tournament and with his solid groundstrokes and big forehand stifled Sriram, who lacked the experience to handle the pace and power of Ranjeet in the lopsided affair.
Ranjeet broke Sriram in the fourth and the sixth game of the first set but conceded the seventh. He would have closed the set in the next game but Sriram saved four set points to gain a temporary reprieve.
Ranjeet served out the set in the next game.
In the second set, Ranjeet was flawless even as Sriram tried to cut down on his errors but except facing a break point in the eighth game, he dominated the proceeding till the end.
Ranjeet broke Sriram early in the third game and with a forehand winner sealed the match in one hour and seventeen minutes.
“I was confident to win from the start. I served well today but Balaji was better with his serves in the second set. I have improved a lot this year. My fitness, too, is better now,” Ranjeet said.
“I have been playing well from the first match and psychologically I always felt I was a notch above than the rest. I have been improving with every match.
When asked that the absence of top players have left the field weak in this year’s nationals, Ranjeet said: “I know a lot of star players are missing from the tournament. But it hardly affected me. I got the chance to prove myself.”
Sriram, also from Tamil Nadu, admitted being outplayed by Ranjeet. “He played really well. I felt tired and had no answer to his forehand weapon. But it was a great tournament and I am happy that I made to the final,” the 18-year-old said.
The win has fetched Ranjeet Rs 30,000 and 35 AITA points while Sriram claimed Rs 20,000 and 25 AITA points.