Former Davis Cup player and National Champion Dineshkanthan Thangarajah was crowned champion in the first ever Clay Court National Tennis Championship conducted by the Sri Lanka Tennis Association last evening (Thursday 22nd.)
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The initiative sees a replica modeled after the Junior and Senior National Tennis Championships that has been alive in Sri Lanka for the past 10 decades. Thangarajah, having won many top tier titles on his day, has been a prominent member of the Sri Lanka National Tennis Team in the World Davis Cup Tournaments for the last five years. He conducts his own tennis academy varying from grassroots to professional levels of training.
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Trying his luck on court once again, Thangarajah had an easy slide to the final with straight set victories over Suranga Pushpakumar, Lucas Knese, Liu Hui Retallic and 3rd seed Mufazzal Hossaine. Teammate and buddy Sankha Athukorala stood in between Thangarajah and the Maiden Men’s Open title of the Clay Court Nationals; After a valiant effort, Athukorala surrendered to Thangarajah at 7/6 (4), 6/3. It was even-stevens in the first set with Athukorala dragging it to a tie breaker but Thangarajah pulled through with a 3-point advantage.
