London Olympics hopeful beats N Sriram Balaji 7-5,6-3 at CLTA Stadium courts,where he learned his tennis ropes under Junior Development Programme Much before the tournament,Sanam Singh,back in Chandigarh from a rigorous and physically tiring ITF tournament in Turkey,had said how much rankings would matter in the coming few months,be it to secure a place in the Indian Davis Cup team or,more importantly,the London Olympics. On Saturday,in Chandigarh at the CLTA Stadium courts where he had learned the basics of the game,he defeated N Sriram Balaji 7-5,6-3 in the final to win the $10,000 ITF mens Futures title. This was his first singles ITF title since turning professional last year and the fourth ITF title overall that includes two in the doubles category. His first singles ITF title India F8 Futures had come in 2005. There could not be a better place to win my first ITF singles title other than Chandigarh. It is good to win the title at home after turning pro and in front of the people who have supported me a lot, said Sanam (24),whose ranking will certainly shoot up when the new list comes out. He is currently ranked 776. Sanam may,in fact,better his career best ranking of 733. Unseeded in the tournament,Sanam,who was playing in a tournament in Chandigarh for the first time after moving base to University of Virginia in 2007,suddenly became the favourite to win it after he had shown the exit door to top seed Vishu Vardhan in the pre-quarterfinals. However,pitted against him in the final was another unseeded player L Sriram Balaji,who like Sanam was playing impressive tennis and had beaten seeded players to march into the final. It was Balaji who called the shots and Sanam found himself staring at the barrel,two games down in the first game. Balaji,shot some powerful aces past him and Sanam took time to settle down. At 5-2,the big serving Balaji fancied his chances but Sanam made a stunning comeback and won the next three games in succession to level at 5-all. What then began were long rallies and ground strokes from the baseline as both the players matched stroke for stroke. However,Sanam won crucial points and annexed the first set. He was more dominating in the second set and easily overpowered Balaji 6-3. The last six-seven months have been very difficult for me. After graduating from the University of Virginia,it was difficult to adjust myself to the professional circuit because playing at the college and professional levels are two different things. However,I am happy to have won the title, said Sanam,who had won the doubles title with Alexandre Lacroxix of France at the ITF Mens Futures Tennis Tournament in Claremont,California,in September last year. Now,with an ITF title under his wings and still more tournaments to play in the coming times,Sanam is one of Indias hopes at the 2012 London Olympics. AITA has sanctioned $36,000 for Sanam for hiring a personal coach and travel grants to get in shape for the quadrennial event. It was in 1997 that Sanam first stepped on the CLTA courts under the Junior Development Programme. In the next six years till 2003,he went on to become one of the top players from the region. He did his schooling from St Johns School (Sector 26),Chandigarh,before moving to NTA.
