Vinod, Vasant set up summit clash

November 26: Qualifier Mayur Vasant of Maharashtra entered the JS Pereira Memorial tennis final with a 6-2, 6-1 win over Benjamin Xavier at the Bandra Gymkhana today.

Vasant8217;s opponent in Saturday8217;s final will be top seed and India No 5 Vinod Sridhar of Tamil Nadu who overwhelmed statemate Ranganathan Narendra 6-2, 6-1 in the other semi-final.

Xavier had few answers to his adversary8217;s strategy as they came on for the second set. Vasant took a 5-0 lead, a double fault in the fourth game adding to Xavier8217;s woes. Though Xavier held serve for 1-5 in the sixth game, Vasant served out the tie in the next, reaching match-point with a blistering ace. Vasant settled the issue without losing a point as Xavier hit a return of serve into the net.