Vishnu back to winnings ways with AITA Men’s event title

Bengaluru, Oct 2: Former Asian Games medallist and doubles specialist Vishnu Vardhan was back in winning circles as he annexed the PBI-CSE Tennis Academy AITA Rs 1 lakh Men’s tennis title here on Saturday. In the summit clash, the 34-year-old made it look like a formality when he quashed the dreams of first-time finalist Maanav Jain with a clinical 6-1, 6-2 victory to lay hands on the winner’s trophy.

Nervousness was writ large on Maanav’s face while facing his experienced and fancied rival and it clearly trickled on to his game as he choked in the first set. Vishnu played some superb returns and relied on his experience to cruise through the first set. The local lad seemed to come out of the shock and looked a bit relaxed in the second set as he rallied better but had to succumb to the sheer power of Vishnu.

“It is very nice to play competitive tennis after two years and nicer to win and I hope to keep the momentum,” said Vishnu after his victory. Talking about his young rival, Vishnu said that he himself was under pressure. “He was playing his first final and had nothing to lose. He is a young kid and I thought he would give it all considering his progress to the final but I got a good start and I carried the same until the end,” said the champion who is currently ranked 324 in the world (doubles).

Results (Seedings in pre-fix, States in brackets)

Men’s singles Final

5-Vishnu Vardhan (TS) bt Maanav Jain (KA) 6-1, 6-2