Markos Kalovelonis was restless, and it showed. If his frequent chats with partner Kunal Anand punctuated with fist-bumps was indicative enough, his incessant interjections and indignant words at the chair umpire conveyed his frustration.
It was all to turn into disappointment in the end, but the duo could draw satisfaction from the fact that they had only been edged out in the match tie-break in the doubles final of the late P.S. Kailasam Centenary GNC ITF Futures tournament at the Gandhi Nagar Club on Friday.
The Chinese pair of Xin Gao and Bowen Ouyang prevailed 6-3, 5-7, [11-9].
Taking control of the netKalovelonis and Kunal tried jamming Xin for they sensed that he was particularly good at the net, putting away volleys with consummate ease. However, the ploy failed to work.
Xin and Bowen broke in the eighth game of the first set, and served it out in the ensuing game.
In the second set, the Chinese went 3-1 up after a break in the second game. However, Kunal and Kalovelonis got the break back to level it 3-3. At 5-5, the Indo-Russian pair held serve and then broke immediately after to take the set 7-5.
But the Chinese pipped them at the post, even the match tie-break going the distance.
Singles top seed N. Vijay Sundar Prashanth beat Sumit Nagal 6-3, 4-6, 6-2 in the semifinals to set up a summit clash with Sidharth Rawat.
The results: Semifinals: N. Vijay Sundar Prashanth bt Sumit Nagal 6-3, 4-6, 6-2; Sidharth Rawat bt Bowen Ouyang (Chn) 6-1, 2-6, 6-3.
Doubles final: Xin Gao & Bowen Ouyang (Chn) bt Markos Kalovelonis (Rus) & Kunal Anand 6-3, 5-7, [11-9].
