Uebel triumphs in style

By A. Vinod

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM, MAY 12. In real life, Lars Uebel is unlikely to be a miser. But at the TTC courts here on Saturday, the genial German was really stingy as he practically gave little away to his rival, Anton Kokurin of Uzbekistan, before lifting the singles title in the first leg of the ITF-Indian satellite tennis circuit in style.

The title clash was a disappointing no-contest, as the third seed dismantled his opponent 6-1, 6-2 in a little over 75 minutes and assured for himself the top prize of $ 812.50 and 21 circuit points.

Kokurin, who had promised much following his memorable win over India's Nitin Kirtane in the first semifinal on Friday, was nowhere in the picture as Uebel with an fine all-round display, especially on the big points, raced away past the former to the finishing post.

A clear indication of what was in store, for the sizeable gathering, was available very early in the first set itself. Stroking hard and moving about freely, Uebel forced Kokurin back into the wall and did not allow the sixth seed to wriggle out of the tight situation.

The German also proved his overall strength - as he moved ahead and dropped delectably and then came up with some crushing down the line blows returns whenever Kokurin made an attempt to come near the net. This double-pronged strategy had its results as an already tired Kokurin slowly but surely melted away.

Kokurin was not only beaten back game-wise but also defeated on the mind game. What gave Uebel further strength was his serve - he fired in six aces with three of them on the trot. Kokurin, to be sure, also contributed to his rival's easy win by committing far too many unforced errors than what he could really afford.

The Uzbek was broken in the first game of the match as Uebel left the former stranded with three brilliant drop volleys and an equally good backhand down the line return. The German himself did not have the most auspicious of beginnings on his serve. But after a double-fault, he was very much in command of his serve and then came back to stretch his lead with a break in the third game.

This second break left Kokurin demoralised and though he did hold his serve in the fifth game, the Uzbek hardly made any attempt to resist when Uebel attacked his serve on the seventh game, before taking the 35-minute long first set at 6-1.

The players kept their serves till the fourth game in the second set when Uebel again went ahead. The break somewhat signalled the end of the battle and it was not long before the German completed his demolition work with a break in the eighth game.

Uebel won the last eight points without any trouble and victory was sighted by him when Kokurin tried to drop without getting into position.

The German was elated with his easy win. ``But for the weather, everything did work out fine for me this week. I was confident about my victory as I had played well in the semis. I hope my form will continue to remain the same throughout this circuit.''

Kokurin, apart from blaming the oppressive conditions caused by the weather, said he was too tired to push the issue. ``I really needed to play well to get past Uebel. But, I was too tired having had little time to recover after playing a tough three- setter in the semis. Anyway, he played a good allround game and though I did my best, it simply proved not to be enough.''

Dr. P.A. Thomas, TTC president, gave away the prizes. The second leg will be held in Bangalore from May 14 to 20.

The results (final):3-Lars Uebel (Ger) bt 6-Anton Kokurin (Uzb) 6-1, 6-2.

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