Wild carders Mankad, Bopanna in ITF summit clash

Wild card entrant Harsh Mankad continued with his good form as he fought back hard after going one set down to resist the challenge of the third-seed Hyun-Woo Nam of Korea 4-6, 6-4, 7-5 registering an intriguing three-set semi-final win in the $10,000 ITF Futures tennis tournament played at the CLTA Complex here on Friday.

Another wild carder, top-seeded and Davis cupper Rohan Bopanna quelled the spirited challenge of gutsy left-hander Divij Sharan accounting a straight set 6-4, 7-5 victory. The title clash now becomes more interesting as it will be fight between two wild-carders.

The country’s two of the best players will lock horns for the title hunt with Mankad enjoys a upper hand over Bopanna as he has a 3-2 win record against booming big-server Bopanna uptill now. It will be a fascinating tie to watch, as both of them haven’t met in the last four years.

Mankad is also in the right frame of mind and good stead to give a shy at his second title of the event on Saturday after pocketing the doubles title combining well with his partner Rupesh Roy in the final. The Mankad-Roy combine defeated third seed duo of Rohan Gajjar and Purav Raja 6-3, 6-4 here on Friday.

Results: Singles (semifinals): Rohan Bopanna bt Divij Sharan 6-4, 7-5; Harsh Mankad bt Hyun-Woo Nam (Kor) 4-6, 6-4, 7-5.

Doubles (final): Harsh Mankad and Rupesh Roy bt Rohan Gajjar and Purav Raja 6-3, 6-4.