Thailand's Montinee Tanphong capitalized on top seed Isha Lakhani's knee injury to clinch her second $10,000 ITF women's tennis title at the DLTA Courts at New Delhi on Saturday.
Fourth seed Montinee was a set down but took advantage her opponent's poor fitness to take the $1600 winner's prize money with a 2-6, 6-2, 6-3 victory in the final.
Later in the evening, the 17-year old Thai girl rounded off a memorable week by winning the doubles title as well.
Montinee partnered compatriot Thassha Vityaviroj to defeat Japan's Satomi Kinjo and Tomoyo Takagishi 3-6, 6-0, 6-3 and walk away with the winners' purse of $650.
Both the singles and doubles winners gained six WTA points while the runners-up earned four points besides a cheque of $1000 and $350 respectively.
Montinee had lost to Isha, the Asian junior champion, in a $25,000 event in Mumbai last year but today luck was on her side as her opponent struggled to produce her best.
The strained left knee proved too much to cope with even for a player like Isha, known for her fighting spirit, and the Indian eventually lost the battle.
"I did not expect to win today. I just got lucky," admitted Montinee who would be aiming to qualify for the $140,000 WTA Tour event in Hyderabad in the coming weeks.
"In fact, I did not come into the tournament prepared at all. I just wanted to have a hit and enjoy the tennis," said the 432nd ranked teenager who won her first title back home last year.
Isha, with her left knee on crepe, showed little signs of discomfort in the beginning as she gained a break in the third game to go 2-1 in the first set.
Although she dropped serve in the very next game, the home favourite uncorked a double break in the fifth and seventh games and finished the set with an ace.
But the match turned on its head from second set onwards when the Indian felt the pain grow unbearable and found it difficult to retrieve some of the easiest of passing shots.
The Thai sensed her chance and pounced on the opportunity. The number of unforced errors that had marked the first set suddenly disappeared from her game and she began to keep the ball in play.
The eventual break came in the fourth game when she converted the second of three break points after battling as many deuces. She broke Isha once more in the eighth to take the set and push the match into the decider.
Isha hung in there, and even entertained hopes of a miraculous win, for the Thai girl was herself hampered a bit by a thigh strain.
She saved three break points to hold serve in the fourth game of the third set, but a down the line winner and a lucky net chord gave Montinee another break point in the sixth.
The Indian promptly put her back hand into the net to go down 2-4.
Isha kept fighting still, breaking back Montinee on love but the injury was beginning to assert itself and the youngster succumbed to it in the end, losing serve again to be 3-5.
