Top seed Somdev Devvarman stands just one win away from clinching his second successive NCAA Tennis Championship title after beating Alex Clayton in the semi-finals at Tulsa, Oklahoma.
Devvarman, of University of Virginia, beat Clayton 6-4, 7-6 (3) in the final four of the US collegiate competition on Sunday. He will now take on J P Smith of Tennessee, who beat 11th ranked Andre Begemann 6-2, 6-4.
Devvarman is trying to become the first back-to-back NCAA champion since Matias Boeker of Georgia won the championships in 2001 and 2002.
"I fought really hard, and that is maybe why I came out on top. I served really well. Other than that, today was a really good match, very competitive all the way through. I am pretty glad I came out on top in the end," Devvarman said after his match.
"He was serving 3-1, 40-15, if I recall right. He made a couple of errors, I hit a couple of good shots and found a way to break back in, and before I knew it I was serving for the first set. I found a way to win that set," he added.
Devvarman, who made his Davis Cup debut for India in February this year, had defeated John Isner in the final last year for the NCAA championships.