CHENNAI: Sriram Balaji went down to Vishnu Vardhan in straight sets (6-4, 6-3) as he added the singles title to a record doubles crown in the Justice PS Kailasam ITF men’s international Futures tennis championship here at the Central Polytechnic grounds in Taramani. The pair who partnered each other in the doubles match played some crisp tennis on a humid Saturday morning.
Coimbatore-boy Sriram looked a little jaded after continuous action for the past five weeks. In the first set, Vishnu went up 3-0 in the second game which proved to be crucial. Though Balaji put up a spirited performance in the second set to hold fort, Vishnu was resolute and confident. Vishnu and sriram who have played a lot of matches togethr are very good friends off the pitch.
“I had a small stomach problem since Friday. Also, my schedule has been hectic for some weeks now. However, Vishnu was the better player today and I am happy for him,” he said. Dr K Sadaiyavel and Karti P Chidambaram felicitated the players. The winner will get 18 ATP points and the runner up will carry 12 ATP points respectively.