It was the second singles title of the season for Sriram Balaji as the second seed defeated third-seeded Na Jung-Woong of Korea 7-5, 7-5 in the final of the $15,000 ITF men’s Futures tennis tournament at the Arera Club here on Saturday.
It was a welcome title for the 23-year-old Balaji, who trains at the Schuttler Waske tennis centre in Germany, after he had failed to win a set against Yuki Bhambri in the previous final last week in Delhi.
Incidentally, Balaji did not drop a set in the whole week in singles, and was understandably delighted to add to the title he had won earlier in the season at home.
“It has been a great week and has given me a lot of confidence. I had to grind right from the first round”, said Balaji who broke the Korean in the 12 game of the first set to put the match on a decisive course.
Balaji bounced back from being a break down in the second set to finish the match in straight sets.
“He was not making many mistakes and that put me under pressure. I served well and mixed up by going to the net”, said Balaji quite happy to have his friend from the US, Navaneetha Kannan travelling with him for support.
The title was worth 27 ATP points for the 458 ranked Balaji who had been ranked a career-best 313 in February. It was the fourth title for Balaji and third at home.
