Rohan Bopanna-Ramkumar pair lift Tata Open trophy
Pune, Feb 6: India's Rohan Bopanna and Ramkumar Ramanathan won their second ATP World Tour title together after pipping the top seeded Australian pair of Luke Saville and John-Patrick Smith in the final of the Tata Open Maharashtra, here on Sunday.
The Indians erased the first set deficit to win 6-7(10) 6-3 10-6 in one hour and 44 minutes.
Bopanna and Ramkumar combined as a team on the ATP Tour for the first time at the Adelaide event last month in the run-up to the Australian Open and won the trophy.
For Bopanna, it was his 21st ATP doubles title while for Ramkumar it was second trophy at this level and it will push him inside doubles top-100 for the first time in his career.
They split USD 16370 as prize money and earned 250 ranking points each.
Bopanna had won this event with compatriot Divij Sharan in 2019.
Big serves marked the beginning of the contest with only Ramkumar and Luke losing a point each in the first four games.
Bopanna's volley error on a return from Luke made it 30-all in the fifth game but Ramkumar pulled off an ace and followed that up with another huge serve to hold for a 3-2 lead.
The Indian team had got a chance to break Patrick-Smith's serve in the next game when Luke made an error while attempting an overhead volley at 40-30 but the opportunity could not be utilised as the Australian pulled of a big serve on the deuce point.
The Australians also created break opportunity on Ramkumar's serve in the ninth game when they found two service return winners and the Indian serving a doubler fault at 40-30 but the home team managed to hold.
A comfortable hold at love by Patrick-Smith made it 5-5.
Eventually a tie-break was required for deciding the first set. Both the teams had a number of set points as the Indians squandered two chances and the Australians three before converting their fourth.
They got the chance when Bopanna made an unforced error at 10-all and Ramkumar netted a forehand on set point.
In the second set, the Indian duo needed a good start and they got it by breaking Luke's serve in the third game when the Australian made a volley error on deuce point.
Bopanna saved a break chance on his serve in the next game to keep their nose ahead. Patrick-Smith was serving to stay in the set in the ninth game and was broken to allow the Indian team force a Super Tie Breaker.
At 30-all, an engrossing rally ensued between the two pairs. Luke blinked to give Indian first set point which they converted when Bopanna dispatched a volley winner with ease.
Bopanna and Ramkumar dominated the STB to secure the title.
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Rajasthan man in search of his SUV assaulted, robbed in Bengaluru; one held
Bengaluru (PTI): A 32-year-old man from Rajasthan who travelled to Bengaluru to retrieve his missing SUV was allegedly assaulted and robbed, police said on Thursday.
The victim, Chandra Prakash, a resident of Jodhpur, had lent his SUV to his friend Mahendra Gujjar over a year ago on the assurance that it would be returned within a few weeks, they said.
When the vehicle was not returned, he lodged a complaint with the local police in Jodhpur last year, but no progress was made.
According to police, Prakash then allegedly used a mobile application to track his vehicle’s location and found that it was being driven in Bengaluru. On February 23, he reached the city with a spare key, located the SUV parked by the roadside in east Bengaluru and drove it away after unlocking it.
Around 11.10 pm, as he neared Bommanahalli Circle, three men on a two-wheeler intercepted him. When he questioned them, an argument ensued and the trio allegedly assaulted him with an iron rod and a helmet, a senior police officer said.
The accused allegedly robbed him of two mobile phones and fled with the SUV. Prakash sustained injuries and was shifted to a hospital for treatment, he said.
Based on his complaint, Mangilal Choudary (40), a businessman from Rajasthan, was arrested in connection with the incident, police said, adding that efforts are being made to nab the other two suspects.
During interrogation, Choudary told police he had extended a friendly loan to an acquaintance who defaulted and that the SUV was given as security, police said.
Gujjar had allegedly borrowed money from acquaintances and passed the vehicle to a friend of Choudary, who later returned it to him. The SUV and the two mobile phones have been recovered, they added.
