Manoj Pandey clinched the men’s 55+ category title as he prevailed over a fighting Sameer Kakodkar, while Mano Chhabra put in a fabulous exhibition of classy tennis at the 1st Baale BPS Open tournament at BPS Sports Club in Margao on Friday night.
In a final lasting for two hours and ending past mid-night, Manoj Pandey and Sameer Kakodkar battled like heavyweight boxers in a hard-fought title clash for veterans over 55 years category. Manoj won the first set 7-5 with his powerful serves, forehands and drop shots giving him the impetus.
Sameer was more of delectable touches and sticking to risk-free tennis, he preyed on the mistakes of his rival to bounce back by winning the second set 6-4. The Super tiebreaker went down to the wire as well, with Manoj holding his nerve to wrap it 10-8 and with it the veterans championship.
The pick of the contests on the day was undoubtedly the men’s singles semi-final where 49-year-old Mano took on much younger Siddharth Nunes in the hotly-contested tie that lasted for over one and a half hours.
Mano wielded his class with fantastic serves and volleys to bag the first set 6-2. But Sidharth managed to claw back into the contest in the second set as he broke Mano, with an array of superb passing shots down the line in particular. However, his double-faults at crucial junctures, undid his good work and Mano managed to get even before making the crucial break in the 11th game before finishing the set 7-5 and with that booked his place in the final.
Some of the other top results included an exciting victory for Shreyas in the U18 boys semifinals, and Arhan in U14 boys semis – both coming from behind to seal finals spots.
Shreyas overcame a tough challenge from Punit 1-4, 4-3, 10-6; after Arhan came from behind to beat Vivaan 1-4, 4-3, 10-6.
