ONE played a winning game, but the other showed that he had the game to win in the bigger league. Vijay Kannan kept a long-standing promise by clinching the title in the DSCL National tennis championship, but people will remember Rohan Bopanna for the refreshing big game he displayed. While the focus was on Bopanna, a strapping 21-year-old measuring 6 feet 4 inches from Bangalore, as he made the draw as an afterthought, after all the direct entrants and wild cards had been decided, Vijay thrived on the fact that there was no focus on him, as he was unseeded.
In the event, the B.Com graduate from Loyola College who is working as a Welfare Inspector with the Southern Railway in Chennai, the wiry Vijay played smart tennis through the week, emphasising on a soft touch and sound angles in beating a respectable field.
The fact that it was his third final in the National championship helped Vijay, in approaching the contest against a powerful opponent, with the right mixture of caution and confidence.
On the other hand it was the third defeat in as many finals in recent months, following two in the ITF Futures events against Prahlad Srinath, for Bopanna. Maybe, he lacked the big match temperament. But the conditions were totally in favour of Vijay, as the moisture in the court, as it had not dried in cold and foggy conditions after being washed overnight, and the quality of balls used helped the defensive player.
Leander Paes, the country's No.1 player for the last so many years was on hand to watch the final and made sharp remarks, even as he praised Vijay for his cool temperament and the game that was tailor-made to match the conditions.
"Rohan has been doing well of late, and is in the reckoning for Davis Cup selection. He has a big game but needs maturity. He didn't handle the conditions well. The ability to overcome the conditions is the mark of a champion, and he requires that", said Leander.
Of course, Rohan has matured considerably in recent times. The big game has always been there, but he was able to string a few matches together, especially in the international circuit, which should augur well for his future. He made a semifinal apart from those two finals in the 10,000 dollar ITF Futures at home, and did very well to make the semifinals of a 15,000 dollar Future tournament in Australia.
Not after Mahesh Bhupathi in 1994, when he show-cased his big serve and double-fisted backhand, has an Indian player impressed with his big game. Rohan can serve really big, and has good volleys. He has some craft from the back of the court and can stun you with classy passing shots.
Rohan is in fact in safe hands, as he is being groomed by C. G. K. Bhupathi, father of Mahesh Bhupathi, for about a year. "He plays a different level of game. He had a good run. With the right support he can be made a player. We will take care of him", said Mahesh, who watched the final on TV.
From the manner he dismissed Sunil Kumar, who was fresh after being crowned the Asian junior champion, and the manner in which he ripped through the defence of the wily Nitin Kirtane, the defending champion, Rohan gave enough evidence of his ability. He did have some trouble against Kamala Kannan, another talented youngster trying to make a mark, but found his way after initial struggle when he got broken twice in the quarterfinals.
It may have been a disillusioning experience for the 18-year-old Sunil Kumar, who had finished runner-up in the last edition, but there is no doubt that the talented left-hander has his work cut out in the men's circuit.
There has been a lot of talk about Sunil having wasted two years in the junior circuit after winning the national title in 1999. But Leander explained the case with a lot of clarity.
"The next year in the men's circuit is going to be very tough for Sunil. There was a lot of hype when he won the national title as a 16-year-old. But as a professional athlete you have to be realistic as to where you stand. Sunil had to prove himself in the international circuit. We aimed the top-10 among the juniors, and he has not done badly by finishing No.30. It was very important for his overall growth to compete at the junior level. He could have lost his confidence by competing at the Satellite and Challenger level", said Leander.
The fact that Leander struggled in the professional circuit for the first few years after being the world No.1 junior, and could not get the required support despite having won junior Grand Slams, should give a hint about how difficult it would be for Sunil to make the grade. The real test for Sunil begins now.
Among others, the second-seeded Mustafa Ghouse disappointed by losing tamely to Vijay in the second round. Mustafa is another player who has a big game, but is not able to adjust when the conditions do not suit his style of play. He has been working very hard on his game, but like most others will benefit with sound counselling from a professional coach.
Ajay Ramaswami has been finding it difficult to master the conditions, for he is another player who thrives on aggression. The National Games champion did give a good account of himself against Vijay in the quarterfinals, but will have his work cut out for the next season.
In the women's section, Rushmi Chakravarti defended her title, but the chinks in her armoury were exposed by Sonal Phadke in the semifinals. The inability to finish the match after a commanding lead was glaring as Rushmi's game dipped after she had led 6-1, 4-1 against Sonal. She lost the second set in a tie-break. Later in the decider, she led 5-1 but needed more than half a dozen matchpoints to eventually clinch the issue in the tie-break.
Even against Sheetal Goutham, a surprise finalist, who had dismissed Shruti Dhawan in straight sets in the semifinal, Rushmi missed many a matchpoint by hitting sitters out.
It may be unfair to criticise a champion, for after all she needed to be just better than the rest of the field. But, like in the case of Vijay, Rushmi may have to lift her game to win at the international level. The national titles should be the launching pad for bigger achievements at the international level.
Rushmi, like Radhika Tulpule, has done well to win titles in the 10,000-dollar events at home, but the challenge is to do so abroad. She has the game, but perhaps lacks the guidance to play to potential, in tournaments abroad. That is an area that most Indian girls need to work, with the rare exception of Nirupama Vaidyanathan and Manisha Malhotra.
Shruti Dhawan tried to hit her way past trouble and failed. The strongly-built girl has a good game, but lacked the maturity to handle the conditions and a smart opponent. She did have a good win over the second-seeded Radhika Tulpule in the quarterfinals.
Radhika and Sonal had done well recently by making the semifinals of a 10,000 dollar event in Philippines. The two know the demands of international tennis, and are slowly finding their way to success, which cannot be said for many other girls.
Sania Mirza played as if in a dream in the first set against Rushmi in the quarterfinals, as she took the first set in 18 minutes. However, the 15-year-old Hyderabad lass who has considerable potential lacked the maturity to give the finishing touch to her good work, and let the top-seed off the hook.
Sania and Ankita Bhambri did have the satisfaction of winning the women's doubles title ahead of the top-seeded Sai Jayalakshmy and Rushmi Chakravarti.
In the boys section, the left-handed R. Arun Prakash, a trainee of the Krishnan Centre in Chennai, showed his class as he rallied from being a set down to beat Somdev Dev Varman, a trainee of the BAT scheme, in the final. Both the lads were impressive on their way to the final, and the latter did well to outgun the top-seeded Amanjot Singh for the loss of four games in the quarterfinals.
Rohan Gajjar continued to disappoint, as the second-seed was put out by Anant Sitaram who, however, could not match Arun Prakash in the next round. The small-built Tushar Liberhan was a class, but could not beat Arun Prakash for a second time, after having tamed the Chennai lad in the Asian junior championship the earlier week.
Parantap Chaturvedi, trying to find his way after a wrist injury, had a good run, till he was found short of ammunition by Somdev Dev Varman in the semifinals. The latter had lost to Parantap in the Adidas junior tournament finals, but found the right strategy to triumph this time.
In the girls section, Isha Lakhani was a cut above the rest, for sheer guts. The left-hander from Mumbai wielded her racquet with considerable craft to beat wild card entrant Samrita Sekar in the final. She had also done well to beat the top-seeded Megha Vakharia on the way.
Preeti Rao, Kartiki Bhat, Ankita Bhabri and Sanaa Bhambri were some of the others who performed well, emphasising the quality and depth in the girls section.
The organisers did a commendable job of staging the event to the satisfaction of most of the players. They also assured that they would try to use international quality balls from the next edition, in their endeavour to provide a world-class platform for the Indian players. With such enthusiastic patrons, Indian tennis is indeed moving healthy, in the right direction.
The results:Men (final): Vijay Kannan bt Rohan Bopanna 6-4, 6-4, 5-7, 6-1.
Semifinals: Rohan Bopanna bt Nitin Kirtane 6-3, 6-2; Vijay Kannan bt Vinod Sridhar 6-7 (2-7), 6-3, 6-0; Quarterfinals: Rohan Bopanna bt KamalaKannan 7-5, 6-2; Nitin Kirtane bt Punna Vishal 6-2, 5-7, 6-0; Vinod Sridhar bt Rishi Sridhar 6-7 (3-7), 6-3, 4-0 (conceded); Vijay Kannan bt Ajay Ramaswami 4-6, 6-2, 6-3.
Doubles (final): Vijay Kannan and Ajay Ramaswami bt Nitin Kirtane and Sandeep Kirtane 6-2, 6-4.
Semifinals: Vijay Kannan and Ajay Ramaswami bt Rohan Bopanna and Mustafa Ghouse 4-6, 7-5, 6-2; Nitin Kirtane and Sandeep Kirtane bt Sunil Kumar and Rishi Sridhar 7-6 (7-3), 6-2.
Women (final): Rushmi Chakravarti bt Sheetal Goutham 6-4, 6-3.
Semifinals: Rushmi Chakravarti bt Sonal Phadke 6-1, 6-7 (3-7), 7-6 (7-5); Sheetal Goutham bt Shruti Dhawan 6-3, 6-4; Quarterfinals: Rushmi Chakravarti bt Sania Mirza 2-6, 6-4, 6-2; Sonal Phadke bt S. K. Tara 6-4, 6-4; Sheetal Goutham bt Isha Lakhani 7-6 (7-5), 7-5; Shruti Dhawan bt Radhika Tulpule 6-4, 6-3.
Doubles (final): Ankita Bhambri and Sania Mirza bt Rushmi Chakravarti and Sai Jayalakshmy 6-3, 2-6, 7-6 (7-5).
Semifinals: Rushmi Chakravarti and Sai Jayalakshmy bt Radhika Mandke and Sonal Phadke 6-2, 6-1; Ankita Bhambri and Sania Mirza bt Shruti Dhawan and Radhika Tulpule 1-6, 6-3, 6-2.
Mixed doubles (final): Sania Mirza and Rohan Bopanna bt Shruti Dhawan and Mustafa Ghouse 6-4, 6-4.
Semifinals: Sania Mirza and Rohan Bopanna bt Radhika Tulpule and Sandeep Kirtane 6-2, 6-2; Shruti Dhawan and Mustafa Ghouse bt Rushmi Chakravarti and Vishaal Uppal 6-4, 6-4.
Boys (final): R. Arun Prakash bt Somdev Dev Varman 3-6, 6-2, 6-1.
Semifinals: Somdev Dev Varman bt Parantap Chaturvedi 6-3, 6-1; R. Arun Prakash bt Tushar Liberhan 6-1, 7-5; Quarterfinals: Somdev Dev Varman bt Amanjot Singh 6-4, 6-0; Parantap Chaturvedi bt Jaco T. Mathew 6-2, 7-6 (7-2); Tushar Liberhan bt Aditya Madkekar 6-1, 6-1; R. Arun Prakash bt Anant Sitaram 7-6 (7-5), 6-2.
Doubles (final): Rohan Gajjar and Amanjot Singh bt Shivang Mishra and R. Arun Prakash 6-3, 6-4.
Semifinals: Rohan Gajjar and Amanjot Singh bt Nihal Advani and Abhay Prakash 7-5, 6-3; Shivang Mishra and R. Arun Prakash bt Chatwinder Singh and Saurabh Singh 6-3, 6-4.
Girls (final): Isha Lakhani bt Samrita Sekar 6-3, 6-7 (3-7), 6-1.
Semifinals: Isha Lakhani bt Kartiki Bhat 6-0, 6-2; Samrita Sekar bt Preeti Rao 6-1, 6-0; Quarterfinals: Isha Lakhani bt Megha Vakharia 6-4, 6-3; Kartiki Bhat bt Sanaa Bhambri 7-5, 6-1; Samrita Sekar bt Ankita Bhambri 1-6, 6-3, 7-6 (7-2); Preeti Rao bt Krushmi Chheda 1-6, 6-2, 7-5.
Doubles (final): Isha Lakhani and Megha Vakharia bt Sasha Abraham and Preeti Rao 6-4, 7-5; Semifinals: Isha Lakhani and Megha Vakharia bt Sanaa Bhambri and Sania Mirza 6-0, 6-1; Sasha Abraham and Preeti Rao bt Kartiki Bhat and Iciri Rai 6-4, 7-6 (7-4).
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