As it happened

Group Becker - BBB or Boom Boom Bharat / Raja / Philip.

"Boom Boom" Bharat lived up to his top billing by easily overcoming Raja (6-0) and Philip (6-2) to top the group while journeyman Philip himself bageled Raja 6-0 to ease into the QFs. Of the matches Philips versus Bharat promised a lot but delivered little with Philip repeatedly being passed at the net and unable to enforce any sort of authority on the match. Raja, recently turned pro debuting on the AATP circuit surprised Bharat with his loopy serve and unorthodox style but the No.2 seed eventually found his length and game.

Group Agassi - Rizwan / Jonty / Ayazo

This was labeled the group of Death - a prophetic name if ever there was one - more on this one later from my more gifted colleague 'El Harry Wertheimandani"

Rizwan & Jonty faced off in the 1st tie (re-enacting a fateful practice match played out on the same court a few days back between the 2 protagonists and one that would play a very important role in the result) and Jonty prevailed 6-3.
The next match featured Riz and Ayaz and the latter prevailed 6-4 effectively ending Riz's campaign to win the one title that eludes him. In the final tie to decide group placings, Ayaz easily outpaced Jonty 6-1, a result which showed that while Mr.Ayazo was at the top of his game on the court, he was pretty far away from it off the court given his ebullient predictions of a Jonty victory over him.

Group Steffi - El Haresh / Ashutosh / Nimesh

No.1 seed Haresh started off proceedings against Nimesh (barely having made it in time for the registration) and after a typically nervous start which saw the top seed matching underdog Nimesh error for error, he eventually woke up, looked over the net, sized up his opponent and proceeded to win 4 straight games to sew it up 6-2. Ashu next up for Nimesh and this was one close call as the match see'd and saw'd and then see'd before Ashu prevailed 7-5 nailing his first matchpoint when Nimesh drove a slice wide into the tramlines. That left Haresh and Ashu to play the final tie to decide who would top the group. This match was played the next evening (26/9) and Ashu initially gained the surprise upper hand running away to a 2-0 and 40-15 lead on his serve. Just when it looked like an upset was on the cards, Haresh again woke up, dug down and let Ashu make the errors while unleashing a couple of passing shots to win 6-3 in a match which was a lot closer and nailbiting than the scoreline suggested.

Group Federer - Doc / Narem / Suvir

Doc Malpani faced off Naren in the first tie and even as the commentators were reeling off the backgrounds of the opponents, one found Doc shaking Naren's hand at the net - 6-0 to the Doc. Naren apparently had a bit of trouble adjusting to the pace and bounce of these hard courts, so far removed from his home base at Anushakti Nagar. The next tie saw the first real upset when Suvir played out of his skin and expectations to fire out a below-par Naresh 6-1. Easy come - easy go. More to come still - Doc started off his match against Suvir in blazing fashion running into a 4-0 lead before deciding to make it interesting - Suvir tightened up his game, Doc loosened his and the result was 5 straight games for Suvir. Things were looking pretty tense at this stage but then Doc Malpani is not top Doc on the MSLTA courts for nothing -- overcoming Baby calls from Jonty Jr in the cafe Doc held his serve to save the match and then proceeded to reel off the next 2 games to win the tie 6-4.

Quarter Finals Line Up

Haresh v Jonty
Ayazo v Ashu
Doc v Philip
Bharat v Suvir

Haresh played a great game to overcome Jonty's spirited challenge 6-2.
On the other court Ayazo similarly played the waiting game to overcome Ashu 6-1.
Bharat blanked Suvir 6-2 and in the final QF Philip overcame Doc 6-3 to set up an interesting Semi Final lineup.

Semi Final 1 - BB Bharat v Philip
The revenge match and sweet revenge it was - Philip prevailed 8-6 over the defending champion in a closely fought match to enter the Finals on his 2nd try and end BB Bharat's run of 3 straight finals.

Semi Final 2 - Haresh v Ayazo
The top seed calmly dispatched Ayazo's challenge 8-3 to maintain an his sterling record on the AATP circuit (his only loss to date has been his stunning loss to No.2 seed and brother BB BHarat in the finals of the last championship)


Final - Sunday evening 8-10pm Haresh (1) v Philip.
This is the first final to not feature both the brothers Ramchandani. So what would it be - 3rd title for overwhelming favorite Haresh or culmination of a great run for Philip? Match on!!

The first set was a slow one with both players playing well within themselves in a game more reminiscent of a chess match than a tennis match - posturing to gain the upper hand. With the score in the 1st set standing at 6-6 (6-6) there was nothing to prise apart the winners save a couple of loose shots from Philip which handed Haresh the 1st set. Philips looked the better player in the set but Haresh in true No.1 style still found a way to hold on and bag the set.

Alas the next set saw a terrible start with Haresh going down 0-3 in the blink of an eye (in a set which also saw Philip abandon some of his defensive play in favor or a slightly more aggressive mindset). Philips new found game paid off handsomely as he won the set 6-2 to even the score and push the title match into the super-set tie break.

The final set (super tie-break ie first to 10 pts with a diff of 2) was a panoply of the shots and determination of both the players. Nary a quarter was given but in the end Philip by single minded focus & a tad more aggression (esp at the net where he continued to ply his trade despite several setbacks) prevailed 10-8 to lift his first major title at this level.

Final score Philip beat Haresh 6-7(6-8), 6-2, 10-8.

A dejected Haresh who had given his all had little left in the tank in the end and could not stay back for the post match conference. The new champion however decided to hit a few shots with the organizers and say a few words as well.

The presentation ceremony was graced by the the mysterious Uncle Toni Sharma who has now been sighted at every single AATP event - particularly in matches featuring the No.1 seed. Reliable sources tell us that he also happens to be the coach, mentor, hitting partner, masseur, cheering squad and strategist for Harry Ramchandani. Well luck to them - Harry was seen hitting the courts the very next day and he will need all the support to retain his No.1 ranking which is coming under increasing pressure by the new upstarts on the tour. In the meanwhile the champion Philip has decided to travel out of Mumbai to savour his sweet victory but promised to return to defend his title in the next edition slated somewhere in November/December of 2009.

Keep watching this blog - El Harry Wertheimandani will be putting down his perspective soon