Maharashtra’s veteran tennis player Tahir Ali produced some outstanding performances and tasted twin success by winning the men’s 65+ singles and doubles crowns in the recently concluded ITF Seniors 200 Kolkata Seniors Tennis Championship played at the Calcutta South Club.
Tahir Ali
The 71-year-old Tahir took in his stride the top two seeds en route to clinching the singles title. In the final, Tahir dished out vintage stuff and exhibited better stamina and willpower as he overcame his doubles partner and the top seed Murthati Suresh of Hyderabad in straight sets, coasting to a 7-5, 6-2 victory to emerge worthy champion.
In the doubles summit round, the second-seeded pair of Tahir and Murthati combined perfectly to assert their domination against the number one seeded combination of Vinayak Gujrathi and Ramesh Mavelikalam by charging to a quick 6-3, 6-4 victory to bag the top honours.
“Winning these two titles is a memorable moment for me. I will forever cherish the victories which are all the more-sweeter, as I won them at Calcutta South Club, on the same tennis courts where I began my tennis career,” said Tahir Ali, who presently is a renowned coach in Mumbai.
In the singles semi-finals, Murthati Suresh eased past third seed Vinayak Gujrathi romping to a 6-2, 6-2 win, while Tahir Ali quashed the challenge from Ahmedabad’s second seed Yogesh Shah winning in two sets at 6-4, 6-4.
Tahir Ali dropped only one set as he fought back to overcome fourth seed Ramesh Mavelikalam 1-6, 6-4, 7-6(5) in the quarter-finals.
In the penultimate round of the doubles competition, top seed Gujrathi and Mavelikalam rallied to defeat Tapas Sengupta and Yogesh Shah 4-6, 7-6(2), 10-3, while Tahir Ali and Suresh tamed the unseeded pair of Satyajeet Burman and Sanjoy Gupta 7-5, 6-1.
Results – Men’s 65+ singles – semi-finals: 1-Murthati Suresh beat 3-Vinayak Gujrathi 6-2, 6-2; Tahir Ali beat 2-Yogesh Shah 6-4, 6-4. Final: Tahir Ali beat 1-Murthati Suresh 7-5, 6-2.
Men’s 65+ doubles – semi-final: 1-Vinayak Gujrathi/ Ramesh Mavelikalam beat Tapas Sengupta/ Yogesh Shah 4-6, 7-6(2), 10-3; 2-Tahir Ali/ Murthati Suresh beat Satyajeet Burman/ Sanjoy Gupta 7-5, 6-1. Final: 2-Tahir Ali/ Murthati Suresh beat 1-Vinayak Gujrathi/ Ramesh Mavelikalam 6-3, 6-4.