Kanthan rule at the baseline continues
Thangarajah Dineshkanthan added to his already productive season by defending his men’s title at the 98th National Tennis Championships after weathering an aggressive challenge from a determined Sankha Athukorale, to manufacture a closely-contested 7-5, 6-3, 4-6, 6-2 triumph, at the Sri Lanka Tennis Association courts yesterday.
Dineshkanthan was feeling the heat, quite literally, midway through the match with the nimble-footed Athukorale chasing down balls
Dineshkanthan executes one of his destructive forehands. - Pic SLTA
that strayed to all parts of the court. However, he reined things in late in the game with some pint-point and powerful hitting from the back of the court.
Things started on a even keel with both men staying on serve until deep into the first set. At 6-5 though Athukorale began to show cracks and dropped to 15-40 on his service. He tried to bail himself out with a drop shot after seeing Dineshkanthan sitting at the back of the court but only succeeded in finding the net and losing the set.
Nevertheless, Athukorale continued with his enterprising strokeplay and was particularly impressive at the net, where he reeled off a sequence of magnificent volleys. He even threw in several serve and volley plays. But once again an ill-advised drop shot proved to be his undoing when, facing two break points at 2-1, he guided the ball into the net.
A blitz of winners later, and Dineshkanthan was serving for the set at 5-3. Despite taking things to deuce, Athukorale couldn’t break back and soon found himself facing a two-set deficit. The match seemed to have slipped into Dineshkanthan’s clutches and both players continued holding serve until 4-3. Athukorale used his superior mobility to produce several long rallies which he punctuated with some superb passing shots. But after earning the break, he relinquished it the very next game with some errant play.
His instincts at the net though were proving to be pivotal, as this tactic hurried Dineshkanthan. At 5-4 on Dineshkanthan’s serve, Athukorale sniffed his opening and promptly drew blood with some blistering forehands and exquisite single-handed back hands, carving out two break points. He converted on his first attempt as Dineshkanthan sent a forehand wide and opened the door slightly for his opponent.
Unfortunately for Athukorale it slammed shut in his face just as quickly. He was broken after a tentative push of a forehand went sailing long to cough up a service break. He tried gallantly to stay in the match but time and time again was left flustered and flat-footed as Dineshkanthan racked up the winners at a ferocious pace. At 4-2, Athukorale slumped to 0-40 on his service, and was cutting a defeated figure on court. His volley into the net at break point functioned as the final dagger, with Dineshkanthan blasting a string of powerful serves to protect his national crown and bolster his reputation as the man to beat on the local tennis circuit.
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