Defending champion, Pakistan national Heera Ashiq was ousted by the vengeance seeking Dineshkanthan Thangarajah after a fierce battle that took over two hours in the Sri Lanka Tennis Association center court yesterday.
One of the most exciting contests that the 100th national championship has seen thus far, the encounter went down to the wire with both players giving it their best shot in every set. With Dinesh winning the final set comfortably, Pakistan national Ashiq exited the tournament, as the final scores read 6-2, 5-7, 6-7(2),6-3,6-3.
Starting off on a positive note, Dinesh received the early honors of winning the first set 6-2 with ease as Heera only fighting back in the latter stages of the game to earn him two games. Living up to the champion tagline Ashiq fought back in the second set to win it 5-7.
The second game wasn’t the best for the Sri Lankan as he struggled in the early stages and that provided his counterpart the advantage. With the scores even, the third was the decisive set which went on to the extent of break points and the set ended 6-7 in favor of Ashiq. With the Pakistan national getting the hang of the break points, it was 2-1 in favor of the Pakistani.
The effort that Heera Ashiq put into his third set caused him to take a step back in fatigue in the next two games which gave the Sri Lankan the break to sprint up in the last two sets winning them 6-3, 6-3. With this win the defending Champion saw a disappointing exit in the quarter-finals.
Dineshkanthan will be full of smiles this week as he eyes his sixth national title which is just two games away. With Sanka Atukorale making his entry to the semi-finals alongside Sharmal Dissanayaka, it will be a battle of the top seeds for the Men’s Open in the 100th Nationals.
