Indian men blank Qatar,
move into quarterfinals
Harpal Singh Bedi in Bangkok
Formidable India overwhelmed Qatar 3-0 to move into the quarterfinals of the men's team tennis event at the 13th Asian Games today.
In a one-sided encounter, the Indians gave the Qataris some tennis lessons on a slow court.
Tall and stocky Syed Fazaluddin gave India a resounding start, thrashing Al-Saoud Mohammed Ali 6-2, 6-1 in just 41 minutes.
Davis Cupper Prahlad Srinath then made short work of Qatar's number 1, Al-Alawi Sultan Khaffan, 6-1, 6-2 in 63 minutes.
Fazaluddin and Nitin Kirtane completed the whitewash, trouncing Ali and Sultan 6-1, 6-1 in the doubles.
There was nothing the Qataris could do against their experienced rivals.
Fazaluddin dominated the court and made Ali run around in chase of the elusive ball. With powerful serves and strokes, he broke Ali in the sixth game.
Ali was trailing 0-40 on his serve but managed to take three points in a row to force deuce, but then he double-faulted to lose the game. Fazaluddin broke his rival again in the eighth game to clinch the set 6-2.
In the second set, the Indian toyed with his rival who had neither the service nor the strokes to put up a fight.
Fazaluddin broke his 22-year-old opponent in the second and fourth games to finish the set 6-1 and win the tie.
In the second match against Srinath, 21-year-old Sultan Khaffan gave a slightly better display. Though he was no match for the Indian, he tried hard to fight it out and even broke Srinath's serve once.
This was the only one serve the Indians lost in the entire match.
Srinath broke Sultan in the second game in which there were five deuces.
The Indian played from the baseline and allowed his rival to indulge in some long rallies, but earned the points whenever he charged the net.
Sultan displayed fighting qualities, but lacked technique. He too rushed to the net but could not earn points like his rival.
The Qatari was unable to return Srinath's power-packed crosscourt strokes.
Srinath broke his rival again in the fourth game and won the set 6-1 in 31 minutes.
In the second set, the Indian started with a bang, claiming Sultan's first game, and broke him again in the fifth to take a 4-1 lead.
Sultan, however, surprised everyone by breaking Srinath in the sixth game. But he failed to hold his serve immediately thereafter.
Srinath finished the set 6-2 in 32 minutes to give India the winning 2-0 lead.
In the inconsequential doubles, Fazaluddin and Kirtane made short work of Mohammed Ali and Sultan to complete the formalities.
"We are still learning," said Sultan after the match. "The Indians were too good, they are all very experienced. It was a good exposure for us."
But Indian women fail to sparkle against Indonesia
Fourth-seeded Indonesia overpowered India 3-0 to sail into the quarterfinals of the women's team tennis competition.
National champion Uzma Khan and Nirupama Vaidyanathan put up a spirited fight before bowing out.
Uzma lost to junior Australian Open finalist Wynne Prakusya 6-7 (2-7), 0-6 while the 174th-ranked Nirupama bowed out to 57th-ranked Suharyadi Basuki 6-7 (1-7), 3-6.
In the doubles, Manisha Malhotra and Sai Jayalakshmi went down 3-6, 2-6 against Liza Andriyani and Irawati Moerid.
Nirupama looked set to win against Basuki when she led 5-1 in the first set and had three set points in the ninth game on Basuki's serve. But she muffed it all and lost.
In an exciting first set of the opening match, Uzma raised visions of an upset, but faltered at crucial moments to squander the chance. In a seesaw set of nine service breaks, Uzma fought till the end, but lack of international exposure proved her undoing.
The spirited Hyderabadi showed no sign of nervousness as she took on her formidable rival. Amazingly, neither girl could hold on to her serve, committing many unforced errors. Uzma held on to her first service game, and then the drama began. She broke Wynne in the second game with her rival returning the compliment and taking the third game.
This went on till the ninth game. Only in the tenth was Wynne able to hold on to her game.
She broke Uzma in the next, but the Indian rallied to snatch the 12th game. But in the tiebreaker, Uzma suffer an abdominal pull and lost 0-6.
''I had my chance,'' she later said, but the muscle pull "affected my play. In any case Wynne is an experienced player."
Nirupama's bid to give herself a birthday gift with a win was foiled by Basuki. She started with a flourish, breaking Basuki in the third, fifth and eleventh games and at one stage was ahead 5-1. But she could not sustain the lead as Basuki fought back from the brink of defeat to break her in the eighth, tenth and twelfth games to draw level.
In the tiebreaker, Basuki won 7-1 to clinch the set.
The loss of the first set demoralised Nirupama who caved in the second set 6-3, her 8th and 12th service games broken.
"I blew my chance," the Indian girl said later. "Basuki played well and her experience also helped her."
UNI
|
