Srinath anchors host win

Bangalore, June 3: An unfortunate injury to Karnataka's SK Shivashankar gave Tamil Nadu an unexpected advantage but they failed to capitali...

Bangalore, June 3: An unfortunate injury to Karnataka8217;s SK Shivashankar gave Tamil Nadu an unexpected advantage but they failed to capitalise on that in the crucial Red Group encounter in the National Games tennis event at the KSLTA Stadium on Tuesday.

The Tamil Nadu men, riding that unexpected break, fought tooth and nail against a Karnataka team that showed its tenacity in front of the home crowd. In fading light, with neither team yielding an inch, Karnataka, inspired by Prahalad Srinath, squeezed through to a 2-1 win.

Both Karnataka and Tamil Nadu were very keen on winning the last league match. The winner would have topped the Red Group and thereby avoided a clash with Maharashtra in the criss-cross semifinal scheduled for Wednesday.It looked like the hosts were in dire trouble when Shivshankar, after coasting through the first set against CV Anand, tore his ligament in the early stages of the sceond set. He was helped off the court by a relieved opponent.

Tamil Nadu, through VN Prem Prakash then tried to pressurise Srinath in a bid to unsettle him. With the vociferous backing of the entire Tamil Nadu contingent, Prem Prakash played shrewdly, but finally wilted against the Srinath onslaught, lost his grip and the match.

Karnataka, who fielded Peter Vijay Kumar and Anand Sukumar for their doubles matches till then, withdrew Vijay Kumar and fielded Srinath instead. That was just the inspiration the team needed.

MAHARASHTRA WIN: On the adjoining court, it was Vasudev Reddy versus Maharashtra. The tall, strongly built Andhra player outplayed Nitin Kirtane in a match marred by constant bickering over line calls. The chair umpire from Pune, Alwaris, the only AITA umpire in the tournament, had to be changed as he made some horrendous errors. Both players protested against his handling of the match.

However, the chair umpire who replaced him got into a argument with Kirtane in particular. The Maharashtra player, after the match, alleged that the umpire indulged in dadagiri.

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After constant bickering he too was changed. However, Reddy stayed focused amidst all the arguments and interruptions and won 6-4, 6-3. 8220;These guys are unbelievable,8221; he said.

Gaurav Natekar neutralised the lead as he made mincemeat of Vinay Karia, who, frankly, played like a novice. Karia was of no help in the doubles either, and it was no surprise that Andhra bowed out of the competition.On the morrow Karnataka take on Delhi and favourites Maharashtra take on Tamil Nadu.

In the women8217;s matches played at the Century Club courts, favourites Karnataka trounced both Delhi and Punjab by three matches without reply while Tamil Nadu crushed Kerala 3-0 and later beat Maharashtra 2-1.In the semis, Karnataka clash with Maharashtra while Tamil Nadu take on Delhi.