Bengaluru Open: Prajnesh, Saketh in title round

Bengaluru, November 16: The home crowd could not have asked for a better finish to the $150,000 Bengaluru Open ATP Challenger than an all Indian final.

In contrasting semifinals played at the KSLTA here on Friday, Saketh Myneni came back from a set down to win against Khazak Aleksandr Nedovyesov 4-6, 6-4, 6-4 while fourth seed Prajnesh Gunneswaran brushed aside the challenge of Brayden Schnur 6-4, 6-1. Incidentally it is only the second time in the Challenger history that two Indians will be figuring in a final.

The Australian duo of Max Purcell and Luke Seville upset the second seeds Purav Raja of India and Antonio Sancic of Crotia 7-6 (3), 6-3 to lift the doubles crown.

In a match that lasted for a little over two hours, both Saketh and Nedovyesov began on an aggressive note and held on to their serves until the fourth game before Aleksandr achieved the all-important break in the fifth game of the first set, thanks to unforced errors by Saketh.

The games got longer in the second set and so did the errors by both the players. Nedovyesov who had reached a career best ranking of 72, four seasons ago, saved two break points in the second game and went on to break his opponent's serve in the third to gain a 2-1 advantage.

However, once again unforced errors caused him to lose his serve in the sixth game when the scores were level. This proved to be the turning point for Saketh, who, egged on by the crowd, upped his game and played some good cross court winners.

"The crowd here was awesome and I owe my victory to them. I have never done "come-on" and that kind of stuff. But today, I did as I think the crowd deserved it," admitted Saketh who broke Nedovyesov's serve in the 10th game to take the set 6-4.

The decider was seeming to be a formality with the Indian firing on all guns and racing to a 5-0 lead with breaks in the first and third games. Things started to take a turn as 31-year-old Kazhak staged a fightback and held his serve in the sixth.

Serving for the match, Saketh double faulted four times in three games and a couple of silly errors at the net saw him losing his serve in the 7th and 9th games as the lead narrowed down to 5-4.

"I lost my concentration for a brief while. These kind of mistakes should not happen but then I am happy that all went well for me," said Saketh. It was the turn of Nedovyesov who had found his mojo late in the third set, to commit errors as he hit into the net giving Saketh an entry into the final.

In a power packed second semifinal which lasted a mere 57 minutes, left-handed Prajnesh displayed some superb tennis, his low forehand returns a treat to watch. After achieving a break in the very first game, he kept the pressure on and cornered the first set at 6-4.

The 29-year-old began in a similar fashion in the second set and broke his rival's serve in the fifth and seventh games to clinch the match.

Prajnesh by the virtue of his win today will be crowned as India No 1. "I am delighted to know that I am No.1. I have been waiting for a while to reach this spot. Although it has still not sunk in, I feel very happy," said Prajnesh.

"Saketh is not a conventional player and has his own style of game which is difficult to predict. But I think it will be a good match," said Prajnesh.

Results (Semifinals) (Prefix denoted seeding, parenthesis denotes country)

WC-Saketh Myneni (IND) bt Aleksandr Nedovyesov (KAZ) 4-6, 6-4, 6-4

4-Prajnesh Gunneswaran (IND) bt Brayden Schnur (CAN) 6-4, 6-1

Doubles (Final): Max Purcell (AUS) / Luke Seville (AUS) bt 2- Purav Raja (IND) / Antonio Sancic (CRO) 7-6 (3), 6-3