Udomchoke rallies to down Mankad in final

For a player who refuses to give up till the last point, Udomchoke8217;s capitulation in the first set seemed quite bizarre. 8220;I don8217;t know what happened, I simply lost focus,8221; explained the Thai, struggling for words.

Udomchoke, Thailand No. 2, played with the insouciance of an amateur wielding a racquet for the first time in his life. And the only best shot executed by Udomchoke in the set was when he whipped in a forehand return, double the pace of Mankad8217;s serve, in the fourth game.

Though Mankad dropped serve in the second game, he had a commanding 4-1 spread on breaks in the first, third and fifth games. However, Mankad did not allow the position to slip out of his hand afterward.

Both Udomchoke and Mankad missed a chance each to break the other earlier in the second set. The Thai set himself up with a break point on a forehand down-the-line winner in the eighth game but blew his chance by putting a forehand cross-court into the net. Mankad had his chance in the ninth when he went 40-30 up on Udomchoke8217;s serve after the Thai swung a forehand long. The Indian, however, failed to convert the point, rushing a forehand long even as Udomchoke scrambled across to close the angle.

Udomchoke finally achieved the crucial break in the tenth game, converting his second set point as Mankad, despite having an open court in front, whacked the ball long.

At the end of the day there was some consolation for Harsh Mankad as he teamed up with Ajay Ramaswamy to win the doubles title. The duo beat Kunj Majmudar and Vikrant Chadha 6-4, 7-5 in the final.

Results final, prefix denotes seeding

Men8217;s singles: 1-Danai Udomchoke Thailand bt 4-Harsh Mankad India 4-6, 6-4, 6-4.

Men8217;s doubles: Ajay Ramaswamy amp; Harsh Mankad India bt Kunj Majmudar US amp; V Chadha India 6-4, 7-5.