It was the court craft of Lakshit Sood that prevailed against the power-play of Paras Dahiya, as the fifth seed tamed the third seed 7-5, 6-2 in the final of the Col. KK Uppal memorial $3,000 Asian men’s tennis tournament on Sunday.
The first set was key, with the players missing many chances and the rain driving them off the court repeatedly. What stood out was Lakshit’s ability to stay focused and play the ball with purpose, testing his opponent by driving into the corners. He also had an all-round game to lend variety to the attack.
Thus, it was no surprise that Lakshit was able to break serve decisively in the 12th game to pocket the first set.
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Lakshit had the experience and the game to pull through, without much fuss.
Once he got a grip over the proceedings by holding serve early in the second set, Lakshit was able to shift into the next gear.
As the match continued in blazing sun in the afternoon, Paras lost belief in his game and stumbled to an early exit in the second set, which was so much in contrast to the first.
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Dispute
There were some line calls by chair umpire Ravneet Singh that Paras tended to dispute but there was no questioning the faith of the two players in each other. In fact, Lakshit had picked up Paras in his car while driving to the venue earlier in the day.
Davis Cupper Vishaal Uppal recalled the splendid role that his grandfather Col. KK Uppal had played in his tennis career, and promised to do a better event next year. The entire family of Col. KK Uppal assembled at the venue and presented the trophies.
The results (final): Lakshit Sood bt Paras Dahiya 7-5, 6-2 .