The Hindu : Sport : Rastogi wins title

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Monday, Sep 26, 2005

Sport

Sport

Rastogi wins title

Vijay Lokapally

— Photo: V. Sudershan

HARD-FOUGHT WIN: Karan Rastogi prevailed over Alexy Kedriouk.

GURGAON: : Karan Rastogi earned his first Satellite title at the end of a bitter combat with the volatile Alexey Kedriouk in the final at the NTA Complex here on Sunday. The sixth-seeded Rastogi won 3-6, 7-5, 7-5.

The second-seeded Kazak was ironically laid low by his churlish behaviour on court when umpire Tariq Maher of Egypt slapped a point penalty to put an end to the contest in favour of Rastogi. "I would have preferred to finish the game the normal way instead of winning it this way," said Rastogi, who showed remarkable resilience against a crafty but inconsistent opponent.

After splitting the first two sets, the two geared up for a close finish even as Rastogi showed signs of demolishing the Kazak with some aggressive play. But Rastogi wasted a 3-1 advantage by committing unforced errors, just the opening that Kedriouk must have prayed for.

Rastogi had to just hang in as Kedriouk indulged in his notorious dissent at almost every line call. It had its impact as Rastogi showed slackness in his movements, missed volleys and messed up opportunities from midcourt. But the contest livened up in the ninth game when Rastogi broke the Kazak and held his service to leave the opponent in a rage. Kedriouk smashed his racquet, damaged it, and with it lost his concentration.

Decisive point

Rastogi grabbed the chance and produced a sensational lob that proved the decisive point, putting him in a position of strength. The Indian had now realized that he had to take the initiative and he did it in style, rushing to the net to unsettle Kedriouk, who loves to slug it out from the backcourt.

By now the Kazak was livid with himself and made it worse with his rapidly deteriorating behaviour. Kedriouk disregarded a warning and invited trouble when he argued with the umpire with Rastogi a point away from the title. Mr. Maher lost little time in slapping a point penalty and bringing the curtain down on a contest that produced some intense tennis, particularly when Rastogi matched Kedriouk in baseline play.

The Kazak had things going his way when he wrapped up the first set with a flurry of strong groundstrokes. The second set saw both plagued by inconsistency before Rastogi kept his cool during rallies to take the battle into the decider, which he won in a worthy end to the first leg of the Satellite.

The result (final): Singles: Karan Rastogi bt Alexey Kedriouk (Kaz) 3-6, 7-5, 7-5.

Doubles: Vishal Uppal and Mustafa Ghouse bt Vijay Kannan and Alexey Kedriouk (Kaz) 7-6 (5), 6-7 (2), 7-6 (0).

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