Srinath, Chicoine enter final

The India No 3, who seemed to have recovered from the right leg tendon injury that undermined his prospects in Mumbai, struck ten aces while overrunning the fourth-seeded Scandinavian challenger who was not allowed to settle in. In the other semis, fifth seed American Tom Chicoine steamrolled past Sandeep Kirtane 6-0, 6-3 in 65 minutes in the second semifinal.

For all his domination, Srinath had a jittery start, finding difficulty with his first serve. But in the second set, the lanky Davis Cupper got his act together. Aces eight in number pinnedThornadtsson to the baseline on the backhand side, stifling the Swede’s strong forehand.

Thornadtsson faced similar difficulty with his first serve that showed itself in four first-serve defaults and a double fault. He was forced to save a break point to hold serve for 2-1 lead. Srinath, however, failed to do likewise and dropped serve in the next game.

However, the top seed raised his game dramatically as he immediately broke back and levelled the scores at 3-3 with the help of two aces. The breaks continued for Srinath in the seventh and ninth games with Thornadtsson putting in everything to make a last-ditch effort to save the set, warding off three set points before losing 3-6.

Srinath dominated the second set, taking only 23-minutes to pocket the match.SANDEEP OUT: Sandeep Kirtane, who had yesterday stunned second seed Syed Fazaluddin in the quarters, was at the receiving end. Nothing looked like working for him — from his serves, returns and fitness. The fifth seed American Tom Chicoinetook the first set without dropping a game. Sandeep showed a glimmer of resistance in the second set but hampered by shin splits, he found court covering a tough task.

RESULTS SINGLES (Semi-finals): 1-Prahlad Srinath (Ind, 312) bt 4-Per Thornadtsson (Swe, 495) 6-3, 6-2. 5-Tom Chicoine (Ger, 500) bt 8-Sandeep Kirtane (Ind, 782) 6-0, 6-3.