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Santoro stops Prakash

The Indian jumps a 100 places

— PHOTO: AP

FINDING THE DRIVE: The champion at Newport, Fabrice Santoro, who turned pro as a teenager in 1989, says he is, at 35, still as passionate about the game, if not more.

NEW DELHI: Defending champion Fabrice Santoro won the Hall of Fame tennis championship in Newport, beating Prakash Amritraj 6-3, 7-5 in the final on Sunday.

The Indian’s goal of winning a maiden ATP Tour title having been scotched by a seasoned campaigner who became only the second player since 1990 to win an ATP singles event after his 35th birthday, the 24-year-old Amritraj said he was disappointed after the loss in the final.

“The main thing through the week was that I was not satisfied with what I had done. I kept thinking as to how I am going to beat the next opponent after every round. I am quite happy with the effort, but a bit sad about the loss in the final,” he said, when contacted by The Hindu.

The lowest ranked player to reach the final in the grass court event, the 305th ranked Amritraj got off to a good start, breaking Santoro in the first game, but could not sustain the effort. The second-seeded Frenchman reeled off the next four games.

“I think I was broken three times this week, and every time I broke right back,” Santoro was quoted as saying.

Still passionate

This was Santoro’s 451st career victory — the fourth highest among active players, behind Roger Federer, Carlos Moya and Lleyton Hewitt.

“When you start a career at 16, never can you imagine that you will win a tournament 20 years later. I played my first French Open in 1989. I have the same passion for the game as 15 years ago, maybe more,” Santoro said.

On his part, Amritraj said he was willing to work hard for his maiden title and that he was taking many positives from the tournament along with the new-found confidence. “I know that I can compete at this level and compete in the final. It was not as if I or my dad were surprised by the results. My father has great faith in my game and my goal is to just stay healthy and stay hungry to be able to compete week after week,” said Amritraj.

Vijay Amritraj had won the tournament thrice, and Prakash said that his dad was proud of his effort. “He was a bit sad because I was sad on losing the final. He told me that I need not worry about the loss and should get ready for bigger and better results,” he said.

Big jump

On jumping 101 places and reaching a career-best 204 on the latest ATP rankings list, Amritraj said that his goal was never in terms of rankings, but conceded that it was a good stepping stone to break further ground.

“The idea is to play the bigger events on a more regular basis. I long to compete at this level and am prepared to work for it,” he said.

Trying to get into a flight to reach California where he is scheduled to play the top-seeded Amer Delic of the US in the first round of a Challenger event, Amritraj said that it would be tough for him against the American who had made it to the round of 16 at the Miami Masters last year.

The results: Final: At Newport (Hall of Fame Championships): Fabrice Santoro bt Prakash Amritraj 6-3, 7-5.

At Palermo (WTA Palermo International): Sara Errani bt Mariya Koryttseva 6-2, 6-3.

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