Bandra Gym J.S. Pereira AITA tennis
Fifth seed Fahad Mohammed of Tamil Nadu produced a fine all-round performance and easily defeated unseeded Pune teenager Atharva Sharma in straight sets 6-4, 6-2 in the men’s singles final of the J.S. Pereira Memorial AITA Ranking (Rs 2 lakhs) Men’s Tennis Tournament, organized by the Bandra Gymkhana and played at the Bandra Gym tennis courts on Saturday evening.
The 22-year-old Mohammed, who trains at the Just Tennis Academy in Chennai, was quite consistent with his serves and with clever change of tactics he unsettled his 18-year-old opponent Sharma, who did well to keep pace till 4-all in the first set. Mohammed after holding serve in the ninth game forced Sharma into committing a couple of unforced errors to win the 10th game and to take the first set in little less than 45 minutes.
Fifth seed Fahad Mohammed (left) of Tamil Nadu receives the J.S. Pereira Memorial Trophy from Chief Guest, Mayur Vasant, a former Indian tennis player.
The Chennai-based Mohammed was dominant in the second and snatched a break in the fourth game to take a 3-1 lead and he broke Sharma’s serve for the second time in the eighth game to win the set in 32 minutes and complete a satisfying victory.
Mohammed received the J.S. Pereira Memorial Trophy and a the ‘Champions’ cash award of Rs 26,000 from Chief Guest, Mayur Vasant, a former Indian tennis player. Sharma was presented with the runners-up trophy and a cash prize of Rs 18,000. Mohammed and Sharma also earned 30 and 22 AITA ranking points respectively.
Earlier in the doubles finals, the top-seeded pair of Ishaque Eqbal of West Bengal and Yash Yadav of Madhya Pradesh were dominant from the start and easily defeated the unseeded combination of Shivam Dalmia from Delhi and Fahad Mohammed of Tamil Nadu as they breezed to a straight sets 6-1, 6-4 victory.
Results – Men’s singles (finals): 5-Mohammed Fahad (TN) bt Atharva Sharma (MH) 6-4, 6-2.
Men’s Doubles (finals): Ishaque Eqbal (WB)/Yash Yadav (MP) bt Shivam Dalmia (DL)/Fahad Mohammed (TN) 6-1, 6-4.