By IANS,
New Delhi : India’s Yuki Bhambri claimed his maiden title on the men’s circuit overpowering compatriot Vishnu Vardhan 7-6 (1), 6-4 in the $15,000 BHEL International Tennis Futures (ITF) at the DLTA complex here Saturday.
The victory fetched Yuki $1950 and 25 ATP points while Vardhan received $1350 and 14 ATP points.
The junior Australian Open champion, who did not drop a set in the tournament, benifited from a rash of errors by his opponent who had thrashed him 6-1, 6-0 in their last meeting a year ago.
The wildcard broke Vardhan with a forehand cross court winner on his third break-point in the second game of the first set but frittered away the advantage when he dropped his serve after a couple of double faults in the next game.
Yuki was again broken by Vardhan in the eleventh game and when he was serving for the set Yuki broke back to force the set into a tie-break which the Delhi youngster dominated.
Buoyed by the set in pocket, Yuki played with confidence in the second set and broke Vardhan with a fine inside-out forehand winner in third game. After that, all Yuki needed to do was to keep the ball in play. He did so competently to take the set and match in the tenth game, when a forehand from Vardhan sailed over.
A jubilant Yuki said he had exceeded his expectations with the win.
“When I played Vardhan last time, I was able to win just one game. I was expecting a good match today and I am glad the way I controlled it.
“At the Nick Bollettieri I was able to match up with the top 300-400 ranked players and that gave me the confidence that I belong there. Winning the junior Australian Open was a big step for me and I am determined to make a smooth transition from the junior to the senior ranks.”
Vardhan, who stunned top-seeded South African Raven Klaasen in the semi-final Friday to make his first final on the circuit, felt he didn’t play his best.
Vardhan said: “Obviously, I am disappointed. I just didn’t play my game. Yuki played solid tennis and varied his serve well. But the final appearance had given me a lot of confidence and I hope to take it into the second Futures next week.”