Patrik Rosenholm of Sweden beat Divij Sharan 6-4, 6-4 in the final of the NCC $10,000 ITF men's Futures tennis tournament at the DLTA Complex here on Saturday.
It was an impressive performance from the seventh-seeded Swede, winning his second title in India in recent weeks, as he showed a lot of patience to curtail his attacking instincts and working his way through the points, against a crafty opponent.
The 23-year-old Rosenholm broke Sharan in the seventh game of the first set with two successive passing shots and the third game of the second by uncorking an overhead on breakpoint. The Swede played increasingly well as the match progressed, and unleashed the big shots at the right time, even as Sharan matched him with his smart court coverage.
Rosenholm saved three breakpoints in the first set, but did not concede more than seven points in all in five service games in the second set.
For the 25-year-old Sharan it was a tough grind for nearly an hour-and-a-half. He kept the Swede in check for the most part and had his own strategy to unleash big returns by taking the ball early at times.
His volleys pulled him out of many a tricky situation. Sharan was at his fighting best in the ninth game of the first set, when he saved a triple breakpoint to hold serve, but could not sustain the effort for long, as the Swede had the ability to change into a higher gear and pull ahead harder. The captain of the Indian Fed Cup team and the new Director of the Delhi Lawn Tennis Association (DLTA), Rohit Rajpal, gave away the prizes. — Special Correspondent
