ITF men's tennis tournament: Niki Poonacha caps dream run with trophy
Niki Poonacha, who had won the National championship in 2019, beat fourth seed Oliver Crawford of the US 6-3, 7-6 (5) at the DLTA Complex in New Delhi on Sunday.
Published : Apr 04, 2021 18:41 IST
Where there's a will there is a way. Former national champion Niki Poonacha had a fairy tale finish to his dream run in the $15,000 ITF men’s tennis tournament as he beat fourth seed Oliver Crawford of the US 6-3, 7-6(5) at the DLTA Complex in New Delhi on Sunday. "I am very happy with this trophy. I had no expectations coming into the tournament. I had retired in the last tournament in Pune with a wrist injury. My hope was to stay pain free," said the 25-year-old Niki, after his second victory in the professional tour.
Niki had won his first title as a qualifier in Indonesia in 2018. He won the National championship in 2019. During the pandemic, he had tried to stay fit, training at the Rohan Bopanna Tennis Academy in Bengaluru. "I haven’t had good results in the last six weeks. Once I started winning here, I kept my focus to one match at a time, playing without any expectations," said Niki. ALSO READ |
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After Zane Khan of the US had won the first two tournaments in the current circuit, and Crawford beat Zane in the final in Indore, it was a welcome sight for the home fans to have an Indian champion in singles. "I will train for three weeks in the academy and then plan my next series of tournaments’’, said Niki.