Seventh seed Sidharth Rawat bounced back from a lethargic start to beat Sho Katayama of Japan 2-6, 6-3, 6-3 in the semifinals of the $10,000 ITF men’s Futures tennis tournament on Friday.
After slipping to 0-4 in the first set, Rawat recovered to turn the match around with a break of serve in the sixth game of the second set. In the decider, after an early exchange of breaks, Sidharth won the last three games from 3-3, by dropping just one point. In the process, he served four aces on the trot in the eighth game.
Rawat fired 13 aces in the match in setting up a final against Shintaro Imai of Japan, who tamed compatriot Yuya Ito 6-4, 3-6, 6-2.
In the doubles final, Mohit Mayur and Kaza Vinayak Sharma failed to capitalise on a 5-2 lead in the second set losing 7-5, 7-5 to Yuichi Ito and Sho Katayama of Japan.
The results: Singles (semifinals): Sidharth Rawat bt Sho Katayama (Jpn) 2-6, 6-3, 6-3; Shintaro Imai (Jpn) bt Yuya Ito (Jpn) 6-4, 3-6, 6-2.
Doubles (final): Yuichi Ito & Sho Katayama (Jpn) bt Mohit Mayur & Kaza Vinayak Sharma 7-5, 7-5. — Sports Bureau
