The top seeds, Mohit Mayur of Tamil Nadu and Natasha Palha of Goa, lived up to their billing by lifting the men's and women's singles titles respectively in the Rs 13 lakh AITA Ranking Anirudh Desai JVPG Tennis Tournament here today.
Defending champion Natasha weathered a tough challenge from the unseeded Mumbai lass Rashmi Teltumbde in the first set before winning the tie-breaker 7-4 and running away with the second set to win 7-6 (4), 6-2.
In contrast, Mayur dominated the third seed from Pune, Anvit Bendre in the first set winning 6-2 and seemed on his way to make the final a no-contest when he jumped to a 5-0 lead with two breaks of serve in the second.
However, a late resurgence from the third seed, which saw him claw his way to 4-5 from 0-5 down, had the goodly crowd on its feet.
But the experienced Mayur kept his cool when it mattered most and with Bendre slipping back into error mode, while serving in the 10th game, broke his rival to seal the set and match.
Mayur took home the winner's purse of Rs 1.35 lakhs and 60 AITA points, while Bendre earned Rs 80,000 and 45 AITA points.
Natasha was richer by Rs 80,000 and 60 AITA points, while Rashmi had to be content with Rs 50,000 and 45 AITA points.
