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Srinath, Fazal showdown

Second-seeded Prahlad Srinath of India today powered his way into the final of the third leg of the ITF men's Satellite Tennis Tournament with an authoritative victory over Harsh Mankad in the semi-finals in New Delhi.

He meets third seed Syed Fazaluddin, who got the better of Russia's Artem Derepasko, after the latter conceded the match citing exhaustion.

Srinath beat the fourth seeded Mankad 6-1, 6-0 in just 57 minutes, while Fazaluddin won the first set 7-6(4) before the Russian threw in the towel.

After his quickfire victory, Srinath said: ''I had India's cricket match on mind and probably that made me rush through.''

Derepasko's decision to concede the match seemed quite wise in view of the Masters tournament, where players can earn precious ATP points, that follows. Perhaps, the Russian wants to start afresh.

The Srinath/Mankad match was a one-sided affair, with Srinath, who won the Bangalore leg, serving exceedingly well. Mankad, who won a hard-fought three setter against Andrei Youznyi Russia yesterday, was sluggish and never in once threatened his rival.

The final tomorrow is being billed as a revenge match as Srinath, had lost to Fazaluddin in the Mumbai leg. ''I am just going to give my best and fight it out,'' said Srinath, adding he was looking forward to the Masters.

Agencies