Janko conquers Chennai

For someone who has never played an ATP Tour semifinal or final before, Spaniard Roberto Bautista-Agut did pretty well. But second-seed Serb Janko Tipsarevic went one step higher than last time to win the Aircel Chennai Open here with a 3-6 6-1 6-3 victory over Agut in the final on Sunday.

World No 9 Tipsarevic did not have it easy against the 80th-ranked Agut. Playing for the fifth consecutive year here, Tipsarevic had to stretch himself to put back some cleverly-placed returns. But his efforts went in vain on a lot of occasions. Having broken Tipsarevic in the second game, a fully charged-up Agut continued his assault and took the first set 6-3.

Tipsarevic was in the same situation in the semifinal against Slovenian Aljaz Bedene. And just like on Saturday, the Serb put his head down and made Agut sweat from the second set. In no time, Tipsarevic was up 5-0, thanks to two breaks. Agut was then treated for abdominal muscle pain and that perhaps took away some steam off him.

Having lost the second set 6-1, Agut put up a brave fight in the decider. Tipsarevic, who broke Agut in the third game, sent down screaming winners thereafter. The final nail in the coffin was hit when Agut was broken in the ninth game,  Tipsarevic throwing his arms up in triumph.

“It was not my best performance but I am proud that I was mentally stable despite what was happening on the court. The final was similar to the semis and I told myself that if I could do it once, I could do it again,” Tipsarevic said.

France’s Benoit Paire and Switzerland’s Stanislas Wawrinka won the doubles title. Meanwhile, it was announced that the Chennai Open contract was extended till 2016.

Results (final): Singles: 2-Janko Tipsarevic (SRB) bt Roberto Bautista-Agut (ESP) 3-6 6-1 6-3; Doubles: Benoit Paire (FRA)/ Stanislas Wawrinka (SUI) bt Andre Begemann/Martin Emmrich (GER) 6-2 6-1