Prashanth gives Vignesh a taste of his own medicinee

Second seed Vijay Sundar Prashanth trumped top seed PC Vignesh in a slugfest winning 6-2 3-6 7-6(4) to clinch the men’s title while top seed Sheethal Goutham crushed qualifier Natasha Palha 6-0 6-1 in the women’s draw of the L&T All-India Open Men’s and Women’s tennis tournament at the Juhu Vile Parle Gymkhana Club on Sunday.

Prashanth played with blisters on his right leg and with racquets borrowed from Mohammad Fariz and fellow finalist Vignesh as his three had broken.

But brushing aside all the hiccups, Prashanth got two breaks to clinch the first set. Vignesh came back strong in the second to win the set 6-3. It was down to the wire in the third with Prashant having a 4-1 lead but the top seed fought back to draw level and the third set went into a tie-breaker. With things being neck and neck a few unforced errors from Vignesh handed the game, set and championship to his rival.

The women’s draw was a rather lopsided final as 28-year old Sheetal Goutham outplayed young qualifier Natasha Palha in straight sets.

Other Results: Winners: Mixed doubles: V Shokeen/S Phadke bt PC Vignesh/Tc Bhattacharya 6-1 0-6 10-5; Women’s doubles: S Goutham/J Shah bt S Phadke/S Phadke 6-3 6-1; Men’s doubles: A Singh/V Shokeen bt A Madkekar/S Sukul 6-2 6-3.