Fazaluddin wins Masters

Mustafa Ghouse and Vishal Uppal then caused another upset of the day when they beat top seeded doubles combination of Kirtane cousins 8212; Sandeep and Nitin 8212; to lift the masters doubles crown.

Ghouse/Uppal pair won 6-4 3-6 6-3 for their first doubles title on the ITF Satellite circuit. The Kirtane cousins won in Bangalore and Mumbai while Srinath and Reddy triumphed in Delhi last week.

8220;It was not the best way to win a title,8221; Fazaluddin said after his win against compatriot Srinath.

Besides 800 approx Rs 34,000 prize money, Fazaluddin earned massive 42 ATP ranking points thatshould shoot his world rankings up by an astonishing 200 placings. Presently at 579, Fazaluddin will be close to 395 when the new rankings are issued on Monday.

Srinath, who settled for runners-up trophy, collected 49 ATP points that should see his world rankings shore up to 320 from present 446.

Leander Paes 100 and Mahesh Bhupathi 245 lead the rankings among the Indians.

Fazaluddin started in right Ernest 8211; playing aggressively by approaching the net often.

8220;My gameplan was to put pressure on him Srinath right from the start. It satellite circuit is the survival of the fittest and since we both were tired after four weeks of tennis, I decided to take chance early on,8221; Fazaluddin said.

He was, however, aghast at the way Srinath conceded the match. The top seed was never in the game and looked too tired even to start the match.

8220;I did not expect Srinath to be so drained out after yesterday8217;s semifinals. He got tired up before I expected him to.8221;

Fazaluddin will fly out tonight toEurope where he plans to play in satellite tournaments in Germany and the Netherlands during the Wimbledon fortnight.

The India number four will then meet his friend and compatriot Mahesh Bhupathi in England where they both would participate in challenger tournaments in Bristol and Manchester.

As for Srinath, he heads for Germany to play for his professional club.

With both earning a handful of ATP points and their ranking getting better, Fazaluddin and Srinath were looking forward to making it to the qualifying round of the year8217;s last Grand Slam 8212; the US Open.