Myneni sets up title clash with Jeong

Second seed Saketh Myneni posted a facile 6-1, 6-3 win over Karunuday Singh to set up a title clash with fourth seed Suk-Young Jeong, who inflicted a 6-4, 6-4 win over Hyun-Woo Nam in the semifinals of the Indian Oil Servo Futures tennis tournament at the SDAT Nungambakkam tennis courts on Friday.

In the first set Saketh blitzed to a 5-0 lead and won the set 6-1.  In the second, he broke Karunuday in the third game.  However, Karunuday Singh came back strongly in the fourth game to level scores 2-2.  At 3 all, Saket broke Karunuday Singh’s serve twice to win the second set and the match 6-3.  Myneni would look to avenge his defeat to the Korean in the semifinal of the ITF Futures held in Coimbatore last week. The Indian was primed for a win before an injury stalked his progress, and he conceded the match at the start of the third.

Jeong, meanwhile, is on a high after claiming his maiden ITF Futures title in Coimbatore where he beat Vijay Sunder in straight sets. However, despatching the fellow Korean wasn’t an effortless task. In the first set, Jeong broke early and took a 5-2 before Nam broke back and held serve again to cut his deficit 4-5.  But Jeong held serve to win the set 6-4.

The second set started with both players playing interesting rallies.  Jeong gained control with high percentage of first serves and blended consistency with aggression.  At 3-5, Nam was down three match points at 0-40.  But he fought back to save all the three match points and eventually won the game on the fourth deuce. Thereafter, his persistence withered and Jeong emerged the winner. 

Earlier, Thailand’s Weerapat Doakmaiklee and Perakiat Siriluethaiwattana prevailed over Indian duo Saketh Myneni and Arun-Prakash Rajagopalan after a nail-biting climax. The Thai pair, seeded top, claimed the opening game without breaking much sweat, but were pushed back in the second, which the latter won 6-2.

However, the experienced Doakmaiklee and Siriluethaiwattana showed their class  in the super tie-break (10-7) to clinch the match and title. 

Results Semifinals: Suk-Young Jeong (Kor) bt  Hyun-Woo Nam (Kor) 6-4, 6-4, Saketh Myneni (Ind) bt Karunuday Singh (Ind) 6-1 6-3.

Doubles Final: Weerapat Doakmaiklee/Perakiat Siriluethaiwattana (Tha) bt Saketh Myneni/R Arun Prakash  (Ind) 6-4, 2-6, 10-7.