Slovaks clinch doubles title

By Nandakumar Marar

MUMBAI, NOV. 24. Team Slovakia clinched the men's doubles title in the Mumbai leg of the ITF Futures Tennis Tournament 2000. The top seeded pair of Viktor Bruthans and Branislav Sekac, combining effortlessly and prowling at the net with alacrity, put wildcards John Doran (Ireland)/Kedar Shah (India) in their place with a 6- 4, 7-5 victory.

Doran had his revenge over Bruthans in the men's singles semifinals played later in the evening. The Irishman, who made the main draw as a qualifier, staged a remarkable second set recovery to stun the second seeded Slovak 6-3, 6-3. Top seed Jural Hasko of Slovakia was more fortunate in the other semifinal, his opponent and countryman Sekac, seeded fifth in the singles, retiring due to cramps in the third set, the scores being 6-7 (2-7), 6-4, 2-0 in Hasko's favour.

The doubles champions from Slovakia earned Rs 27,400 and 12 ITF points for their 88 minutes of hard work, while the runner-up pair got Rs 14,350 and eight points. Bruthans and Sekac thus improved upon their Chandigarh leg performance where they had lost the final to teammates Tomas Janci and Michal Mertinak.

The Slovaks worked hard on neutralising Doran's serves, both keeping their returns deep and low to keep Shah away from the net, a zone where the skilful Indian has proved dangerous with his placements hit with soft hands. Right through the 88 minute final, the top seeded pair maintained pressure on their rivals and showed good anticipation and excellent volleying skills to maintain the upperhand.

The only game when the Doran/Shah pair found things going their way was in the seventh game of the first set. Facing breakpoint at 30-40, the strapping Irishman rose to the occasion by winning the next three points to hold serve, sending down two thundering aces. Bruthans and Sekac, however, broke back in the ninth game, attacking Shah's serves and inducing mistakes from both Doran and Shah as the Slovaks went on to pocket the first set.

The second set was a lively affair, with Sekac dropping serve in the second game after Doran served well in the first. But with Shah broken in the third game, the match moved into an exciting phase. Games went with serves till the eighth when the Slovaks were broken for the second time in the set as the diminutive, energetic Indian began working the angles.

With scores at 5-3 in his favour and Doran serving for the set, the handful of spectators assembled at the Dr G A Ranade Tennis Centre were resigned to the final extending into the third set. Bruthans and Sekac broke through for the second time, quelling the wildcard pair's plans of pulling off the ultimate upset and wrapped up the next three games to clinch a hard- earned, but deserving title.

Doran was one of the three men's singles semifinalists in the competition, organised by the Maharashtra State Lawn Tennis Association, returning to the courts four hours after playing the men's doubles final in the morning - Bruthans and Sekac being the other two. And it is an indication of his fitness level that he remains the only man standing as the Mumbai leg enters the final day, serving and volleying as powerfully as he has been doing throughout this tournament.

The second seeded Bruthans was just blown away by the Irish qualifier's powerplay. Both semifinalists were at their vocal best, yelling at questionable line-calls, cursing themselves after every mistake and generally ensuring that they made a spectacle of themselves. These periodic outpouring of emotion and frustration was understandable, considering they had to dig deep into the reserves of stamina to last the course.

Doran managed to play to his strengths, despite the exhaustion, so was the deserving winner in this 74 minute contest. After winning the first set 6-3, he was three games down at one stage but went on to win the set 6-3 and the match, winning all the subsequent games in a row.

The other semifinal between two Slovaks willing to duel from the baseline, employing the double-handed backhand and the occasional slice, saw both top seed Hasko and fifth seed Sekac trading breaks. Hasko's inability to finish points after having his lesser ranked opponent at his mercy cost him the first set, but clawed back to take the second at 6-4. Two games into the third set, Sekac conceded due to fatigue.

Results: Men's doubles: final: 1-Viktor Bruthans/Branislav Sekac (Svk) bt John Doran (Ire)/Kedar Shah (Ind) 6-4, 7-5.

Men's singles: semifinals: Doran (Ire) bt 2-Bruthans (Svk) 6-3, 6-3; 1-Hasko (Svk) bt 5-Sekac (Svk) 6-7 (2-7), 6-4, 2-0 conceded.

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