Suraj R Prabodh of Karnataka justified his top billing by winning the singles title in the AITA-OTA Men`s Ranking 30K Tennis Tournament at Gurukul Tennis Academy, Mendhasal, 20 kms from here today. In a three-hour-long gruelling final that turned out to be battle of nerves and patience, Prabodh overcame extreme humidity and local favourite Chinmay Pradhan 7-6 (8-6), 6-4 to take home the top prize of Rs 4, 500 and 15 AITA ranking points.
This was the fourth men`s singles career title for Mysore-based Prabodh, who had won his earlier three at Bangalore, Gulbarga and Chennai. Runner-up Pradhan of host Gurukul Tennis Academy settled with a cash prize of Rs 2,500 and 12 ranking points.
Eighteen-year-old Prabodh is expected to improve his AITA ranking from 30s to 20s and 22-year-old Pradhan from 50s to 40s when the new list is released.
Top seed Karnataka pair of Vikram Bangalore Srinivas Naidu and Nishanth Anthony Rebello won the doubles title, beating UP-Delhi combination of Deepak Vishavkarma and Chinmay Handa 6-4, 6-3 in the final to pocket the top prize of Rs 1,700.