Mandya (Karnataka): Fourth seed Saketh Myneni stunned No.2 Ranjeet Virali-Murugesan 7-6 (0), 6-3 here Friday to enter the final of the $10,000 Prem Sugars-ITF Men's Future tennis tournament where he will clash with Vijayant Malik.
Top seeded Vijayant Malik defeated third-ranked N. Sriram Balaji 6-4, 6-2 in 75 minutes in the other semi-final.
Myneni and Murugesan waged an absorbing battle which lasted 95 minutes. The tie was marked by some good rallies.
In the first set, Myneni, who led 4-2 in the first set, lost that advantage as Murugesan fought back for 6-5. However, Myneni had his way back into contention and held serve for 6-6 to push the set into tie-breaker.
It was Myneni all the way in the tie-breaker as he raced ahead and closed the set, winning seven straight points without conceding any.
Myneni also went on to dominate the proceeding in the second set that he won comfortably to book his berth in the final.
Sriram Balaji and Arun-Prakash Rajagopalan defeated Myneni and Bowen Ouyang of China 7-5, 6-1, in the doubles final to pocket a prize money of $630 and 18 points. The runner-up pair received $330 and 12 points. (IANS)
