India’s Garvit Batra (L) and Cyprus’s Maria Sopacha (right in second photo) pose with Tariq Darwish, assistant secretary-general of the Qatar Tennis Federation, after winning the boys’ and girls’ titles in the Qatar ITF Junior Open yesterday.
By Mikhil Bhat/Doha
India’s Garvit Batra continued his ascent in the ITF Juniors ranking when he beat Aziz Kijametovic of Bosnia and Herzegovina 6-4 4-6 7-6 (3) in the final of the 1st Qatar ITF Junior Open 2013 at the Khalifa International Tennis and Squash Complex yesterday.
Batra, who hails from New Delhi, was at 1,396 in November last year. After notching up three wins in the eight tournaments he has played since then, Batra had managed to get up to 284 before the tournament in Doha.
He, however, did not begin yesterday like a top seed is expected to with Kijametovic breaking him in the first game itself. The Indian top seed then wasted a few break points in the second game as his opponent took a 2-0 lead in the first set almost 30 minutes after the match began.
The match, however, then changed course as Batra, relying on a big serve and an effective single-handed backhand, took the next three games to take a 3-2 lead. After both the players held two respective serves for five games, the set finally saw closure an hour into the match with Batra breaking the second seed to take the first set 6-4.
The second set saw Batra and Kijametovic exchange breaks in the fourth and the fifth game before the world number 420 blanked the Indian in the ninth game. He then served out the set restoring parity in the match.
“He just began to play really well, while I had just started to lose the confidence,” Batra, who trains in New Delhi’s Siri Fort Sports Complex under the coaching of Aditya Sachdeva, explained. “He had more winners there.”
In the third set too, the two players held on to their serves before exchanging breaks in the ninth and the tenth game. Batra appeared to be giving away an advantage to Kijametovic but managed to save two break points to hold serve.
The tie-breaker turned out to be a see-saw battle which Batra tilted in his favour winning three straight points in the end to take the win.
His win yesterday will only add to his points tally in the rankings. “I am just hoping I can continue this run. It has been tough in the past few months with playing some eight tournaments and trying to get as many points to climb up the ladder,” he told Gulf Times after the match.
Batra, son of a professor father and a school teacher mother, started playing tennis at the age of 10 taking inspiration from his elder sister Ratnika. Asked about his goals for this year, especially after climbing so many rungs in the ranking in the last few months, he said, “Hopefully, I will also be able to earn some valuable ATP points in this year,” adding that he will also participate in the 1st Qatar ITF Future 2013 that starts on March 30.
In the girls category, Maria Sopacha of Cyprus beat Berfu Cengiz of Turkey 2-6 6-1 6-2 to win the final in a little under two hours.
Qatar Tennis Federation’s assistant secretary-general, Tariq Darwish Zainal, said he was happy the way the tournament was organised. “Technically, the tennis that was played was very good. The organising committee did a very good job of hosting the event,” he said. “We had given four wildcards and all of them to Qatari players and I am sure it must have been a good experience for them to play with some of the top players in the ITF Junior circuit. With the second ITF tournament starting in a few days, I wish all the best to our players.”