It was not Muttiah all the way
Amritha Muttiah was compelled to channel some of her most exquisite tennis in order to survive a stern test of her mental and physical fortitude by Roshenka Fernando, before eventually earning a gruelling 7-5, 6-3, 6-2 victory, to defend her women’s title at the 98th National Tennis Championships, played at the Sri Lanka Tennis Association courts yesterday.
In truth the game could have swung either way, with both ladies blasting the ball firmly from the baseline, but ultimately it was Muttiah’s ability to stay focused and fit which was a telling factor down the stretch.
Muttiah was made to look very ordinary during the early part of the game, as several thundering ground-strokes regularly rattled the advertising billboard behind her. Adding to her frustration was a malfunctioning serve, which misfired during Muttiah’s opening service game to have her down 3-0 in the blink of an eye.
Amrita Muttiah pelts a backhand winner. - Pic by Amila Gamage
But Muttiah is a multiple champion, and like all great players she possesses the uncanny knack of elevating her game when the situation demands it. After trading breaks with Fernando, she made her move down 5-4, while receiving serve. She launched at anything even slightly wayward and immediately placed Fernando’s serve under pressure. This stress broke Fernando’s service to even things at 5-5, but Muttiah failed to capitalize. Serving to take things into a tie-break, Muttiah suddenly struggled to gauge the speed and direction of Fernando’s strokes and in a flash, the second-seeded Fernando had the first set.
After both players had their serves broken in the opening games of the second set, Muttiah buckled down and brought out some heavy baseline artillery. She broke back and held for a 3-1 lead and pried even more space between her and Fernando with another break to move to 5-2. An easy second set looked on the cards but, as was often the case during this match, Fernando rose from the canvas.
Serving for the set, Muttiah couldn’t respond to some rasping flat, angled strikes from the baseline and a spectacular volley from Fernando, which brought things to 30-40. An odd-looking drop shot, which had been bleeding points off Muttiah’s racquet, emerged to take things to deuce. However a few points later, the same shot cost her the game. Luckily for Muttiah her serve was on the mark, and she was able to guide the second set into her pouch.
By this time, the standard of tennis had risen to an exciting level and both players were striking the ball crisply and chasing it determinedly. But Muttiah once again just had that extra bit of magic which sparked her to a quick 4-2 lead. Sensing defeat, Fernando was all drooping shoulders and bent head, and serving to stay in the match at 5-2 she quickly found herself down 30-40. Then for the first time in the match she could not find the energy to force herself back into contention and surrendered the set and title to a very relieved Muttiah’s.
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