Doran crowned champion

By Nandakumar Marar

MUMBAI, NOV. 25. The pain of defeat, the pleasure of victory. Qualifier John Doran experienced these two extremes within the space of two weeks on the ITF Futures tennis tournament 2000.

The losing finalist at the Chandigarh leg was crowned the champion a week later at Mumbai, crushing top-seed Jural Hasko 6- 2, 6-2 in a one-sided final on a windy evening at the Dr. G.A. Ranade Tennis Centre.

``I guess losing the final at Chandigarh made me more determined when I came to Mumbai,'' said the 22-year-old Irishman, still to come to terms with the turnaround in fortunes which fetched him 12 ITF points and a cheque for Rs 56,550. However, there was no doubt about his intentions to subdue the top-seed from Slovakia, who was simply blown away in the 85- minute match, ending up with eight points and a cheque for Rs. 39,150.

Doran hammered down six aces in the final, the first of these deliveries in the fourth game of the opening set hit with such power that Hasko could not even get his racquet to the ball. The lanky Irish qualifier sent down one more in the first, four in the second. This confidence and ability to come up with the big serve when it mattered produced the only exhilarating moments.

For example, in the eighth game of the match, when Doran, up 5-2 and serving for the set, found himself trailing at 0-40. Instead of hanging in there, the Irish qualifier averted danger by winning the next four points with huge serves, Hasko netting twice in a futile scramble to return. The first set was over in 40 minutes.

The strapping Slovak, who loves belting the ball over the net with huge topspin, especially off the forehand, found himself looking down the barrel in the second set when dropping the first and third games to trail 0-4 before Doran had even warmed up for action. Hasko survived six breakpoints to win the fifth, his first of the set, but it was like a brief flutter before the flame of resistance died out. Doran's confidence level was so high by then that instead of slicing balls pelted to his backhand right through the match, he stepped up to stun an advancing Hasko with two backhand down-the-line winners. Taking into consideration the lop-sided nature of the contest, the four aces by the top-seed Slovak were worth nothing.

Earlier in the morning, the MSLTA felicitated Mr. Ramesh Desai on his appointment as the All India Lawn Tennis Association's Life vice-president, besides welcoming Mr. Bharat Oza's appointment as the AITA's Honorary Joint Secretary. Mr. Oza informed that the Indian teams for the Asia Cup Tennis in New Delhi will be announced on Monday, after the selectors meet in Mumbai over the next two days. The new format of the Asia Cup will also be discussed.

Speaking at the felicitation function, the AITA secretary, who is also the MSLTA secretary, talked about MSLTA's scheme to honour coaches who have produced national champions, under which Mr. Nandan Bal, Mr. Taher Ali and Mr. D.S. Rama Rao presented a silver plaque and Rs. 21,000 each in September, 2000. Apart from this, the state players ranked in the first five of the AITA list (based on performances from January 1-December 31, 2000) are also eligible for financial assistance worth Rs. 25,000 each towards subsidising their coaching expenses.

The result:

Men's singles: Final: John Doran (Ireland) bt 1-Jural Hasko (Slovakia) 6-2, 6-2.

Qualifier John Doran of Ireland poses with the trophy, after beating top-seeded Slovakian Jural Hasko in the final of the ITF Futures tennis tournament in Mumbai on Saturday. - Photo: Vivek Bendre

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