Niki Poonacha reigns supreme in AITA tennis tournament

: Top-seed Niki K Poonacha of Andhra Pradesh outclassed local lad Dhakshineshwar Suresh 6-3, 6-1 in the final to win the singles title in the MCC-S R Subaramaniam Memorial AITA men's tennis championship here Saturday.

In a contest between two tall players, the six-feet, two inch Poonacha used his strong serve to good effect against the 6'5" Suresh to win in 70 minutes.

Poonacha broke in the fourth game, capitalising on a couple of unforced errors from his rival. He held serve comfortably from thereon to take the first set 6-3.

The second set was a romp for Poonacha as Dhakshineswar asked for a medical break early and had his shoulder worked on by the physio. The lanky Chennai lad lost serve immediately and never recovered after that.

The top-seed was in control as he served and volleyed with confidence and came up with some good drop shots to jump to a 4-1 lead. He wrapped up the second set 6-1 with some aggressive play.

Indian tennis legend Vijay Amritraj, who is ...