A big win for Dekel

By Kamesh Srinivasan

AHMEDABAD, MAY 26. Or Dekel of Israel overcame the big game of fourth-seeded John Doran, not to forget his tantrums, in recording a 6-4, 6-1 triumph in the final of the third leg of the Satellite tennis circuit at the AGETA Complex here on Saturday.

Raising his game to match the occasion the 20-year-old Israeli made the maximum of his maiden appearance in a final, even as his Irish opponent succumbed to his own foul temper, as much as to a flurry of errors.

Though he allowed himself to be broken in the fourth and eighth games of the first set, after having broken Doran in the third and seventh games, Dekel played a high quality game with a lot of intensity, to swing the match decisively in his favour with a break in the ninth game.

The bearded Dekel came up with one of his three passing-shots, a curling shot that was supported by the wind, to break Doran in the ninth game. The Israeli delivered five first serves in taking the next game and the set in 46 minutes.

Doran started the second set well, holding serve in the first game, but could not win another game thereafter. He was far too erratic and made the mistake of testing the strong double-fisted backhand of Dekel, and failed miserably.

The strong Irishman who was losing his second successive final, after the three-set thriller against James Auckland in the Bangalore final last week, was far too erratic as he committed as many as 53 errors compared to Dekel's 26.

In a contest that spanned an hour and 22 minutes, Doran saved three matchpoints in the seventh game to give a final glimpse of his capability. He, however, sent his backhand sailing wide on the fourth matchpoint, and Dekel put his arms up in celebration, on a task well accomplished. The crowd broke into a warm round of applause.

What clinched the day for Dekel was his ability to return the big serves of Doran despite the Irishman landing 69 per cent of his first serves in the first set. The Israeli thus took the sting away from his opponent's armoury. It was another matter that Doran's service percentage got reduced to 53 per cent in the end, as he managed a mere 40 per cent first serves in the second set.

In comparison, Dekel had a 53 per cent first serve in the first set, and 47 per cent in the second. Yet, he won points with aplomb, and needed only 15 points in winning his three service games in the second set, while Doran played as many as 16 points on his last service game alone.

``I was much better than him today, and we both knew it. I had all the cards with me. I was ready for the chess game, as much as tennis'', said Dekel, quite pleased with his brilliant execution.

The fact that Doran had got away with his sharp serves under floodlights in the earlier matches was emphasised, as Dekel showed an uncanny ability to read and return the serves with remarkable assurance.

Moreover, Dekel was able to channelise his anger, as he was peeved at Doran playing the waiting game, like a chess player, consistently taking his own sweet time between points. Dekel even asked the chair-umpire whether there was any time control, and was quite annoyed.

On the other hand, Doran seemed to be annoyed with everyone and everything, when he had his own poor concentration to blame. He slammed a ball in the direction of a ball-boy who had mistakenly thrown it at him when he was getting ready for a second serve. Towards the end of the second set, Doran blew his fuse and slammed his racquet repeatedly in being slapped a code violation point penalty for racquet abuse in the sixth game. Doran had been given a code violation for audible obscenity and the second offence resulted in the point penalty.

``I saw through his trick today, and he destroyed himself. I was happy to keep my focus'', said Dekel, who had pushed Doran to a situation of no return.

Dekel had only one ace, and 11 winners apart from a doublefault, while Doran had an ace, two doublefaults and 16 winners including two volleys. It was the steady play of Dekel, who was determined to prove his calibre, that helped him race to the title without so much as dropping a set on the way in the entire tournament.

Dekel collected $812.50 for his efforts and 21 circuit points. For someone who had collected only 11 circuit points in the previous two legs, it was a huge boost for Dekel. Doran had to be content with $562.50 and 15 circuit points.

The results (finals): Singles: Or Dekel (Isr) bt John Doran (Irl) 6-4, 6-1.

Doubles: John Doran (Irl) and Mustafa Ghouse bt Rishi Sridhar and Syed Fazaluddin 4-6, 6-4, 6-1.

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