Chen meets Vishnu Vardhan in ITF title clash

Bangalore: Top Seed Ti-Chen of Taipei on Friday rallied to beat Jeevan Nedunchezhiyan 3-6, 7-6(7), 6-4 in the semi-final and set up a title clash with second seed Vishnu Vardhan in the Toyota ITF Open USD 10,000 prize money championship.

Vardhan defeated fifth seed V M Ranjeet 6-4, 6-7(3), 6-3 in the other semi-final. In a high voltage clash, Davis cupper Ti-Chen came up with solid returns even as he was under pressure with the fourth seed`s superb serving and huge forehand winners. The top seed clawed back from after losing the first set, to win the closely-fought second. In the deciding set,trailing 1-4, Jeevan broke Ti-Chen in the ninth game to narrow the deficit to 5-4. However, Ti-Chen proved superior in the tenth game where he broke Jeevan and sealed the set and match. Ti-Chen said Jeevan served big and applied pressure, but he was happy he eventually came good. "I was lucky in the tie-breaker which went my way. After the turnaround, I was determined not to give in," he said. In the second semifinal, which was marred by rain interruptions, Vishnu Vardhan fired in 25 aces. Vardhan closed the first set but lost the second set tie-breaker with Ranjeet taking an early 4-1 lead. Vardhan cut the deficit to 3-4, but Ranjeet won the next three points in style. The second seed tasted success early in the decider breaking Ranjeet in the second game before heavy downpour stopped proceedings. The tie resumed after 40 minutes and Vardhan stayed on course with that early break and emerged winner. The men`s Doubles final, which was scheduled on Friday, will take place on Saturday followed by the men’s singles final at 3.30 PM. PTI