Top seed Sasikumar Mukund battled his way past Kaza Vinayak Sharma 3-6, 6-2, 7-5 in the semifinals of the $10,000 ITF men’s Futures tennis tournament at the Harvest Academy, Jassowal, on Friday.
The 18-year-old Sasikumar turned the match around, after losing the first set, by winning a break in the sixth game of the second. In the decider, a tie-break seemed imminent as Kaza led 30-15 in the 12th game. However, he lost the next three points and the match.
In the final, Sasikumar will face Sidharth Rawat, who won a similar battle against Mohit Mayur after losing the first set. Former national champion Mohit started on a bright note and ran away with the first five games, but Sidharth clawed his way back into the match, gaining control with an early break in the second set.
In the doubles final, second seeds Chandril Sood and Lakshit Sood beat the top seeds Mohit Mayur and Kaza Vinayak Sharma in straight sets. It was the second doubles title of the season for the Sood brothers following the one in Chennai in March.
The results:
Singles (semifinals): Sasikumar Mukund bt Kaza Vinayak Sharma 3-6, 6-2, 7-5; Sidharth Rawat bt Mohit Mayur 1-6, 6-3, 6-4.
Doubles (final): Chandril Sood & Lakshit Sood bt Mohit Mayur & Kaza Vinayak Sharma 6-1, 6-4.
