Dhiraj Veerula bagged a double by winning the men’s singles and doubles titles in the 60+ age category at the Bharath Science ITF MT2000 Hyderabad, ITF World Masters Tour Seniors Ranking Tennis Tournament, at the GBR Cultural Club in Kompally recently.
In the men’s singles final, unseeded Dhiraj Veerula overcame a fighting second seed Jamalapuram Venkataramana in straight sets. The final was a pulsating affair as both players fought tooth-and-nail in the first set. Neither player was willing to give up and hence the set winner had to be decided in the tiebreaker. Dhiraj kept his composure and managed to eke out a 7-6 (4) win in the first set to keep his nose ahead in the match.
The second set was not as dramatic as the first one but still Venkataramana fought till the end. But the unseeded Dhiraj was too good for his seeded opponent as he carved out a 6-3 win to lay his hands on the crown.
In the semifinals, Dhiraj had an easy outing against Venkata Ratnam Kandala as he cruised to a 6-1, 6-1 victory and book a place in the title clash. In the other last four match, Jamalapuram Venkataramana did not have to hit a ball as his opponent Prathapa Reddy Singareddy conceded the tie by giving a walkover.
Dhiraj and Venkata Sastry win a pulsating doubles final
In the doubles’ final, Venkataramana ended up on the losing side again. Venkataramana and Jawahar Namburi, the top seeds, were edged out by the second seeds Dhiraj and Yedla Venkata Sastry in a gripping and pulsating game.
The top seeds were out of the block in a jiffy as the brooked no challenge from their rivals in the first set. The duo took the set with consummate ease at 6-1.
Dhiraj Veerula and Yedla Venkata Sastry won the doubles title after a gripping battle against top seeds Jamalapuram Venkataramana and Jawahar Namburi
One expected the top seeds to finish the game quickly, but Dhiraj and Venkata Sastry had other ideas up their sleeves. The duo changed tactics and gears to upset the applecart of the top seeds. The duo won the second set at 7-6(5) and took the game into the super tiebreaker.
The super tiebreaker proved to be a super contest between the finalists as both teams put their best foot forward. However, Dhiraj and Venkata prevailed 10-8 to cap a fine fight.
In the semifinals, Dhiraj and Venkata defeated Ravisankar Devarakonda and Gangadhar Vasamsetti 6-4, 6-3. Top seeds Jawahar and Venkataramana overcame a stiff challenge from unseeded Sridhar Sundaram Kalyana Sundaram and Venkata Ratnam Kandala 6-4, 2-6, 10-4.