It was a memorable day for Indian tennis as Rohan Bopanna won the Erste Open in Vienna, partnering Pablo Cuevas, while the team of Saketh Myneni and Vijay Sundar Prashanth clinched the Vietnam Open in Ho Chi Minh City.
However, Divij Sharan and Scott Clayton finished runners-up at the Brest Challenger event in France, preventing what could have been an incredible as well as unique culmination to the week for Indian players on the circuit.
In Vienna, unseeded Bopanna and Cuevas saved two match-points before prevailing 7-6(7), 6-7(4), 11-9 over Sam Querrey and Marcelo Demoliner.
Bopanna-Cuevas were down 7-9 in the deciding super tie-break but saved both match-points to emerge triumphant.
It was Bopanna’s third title of the season, having won the Chennai Open (with Jeevan Nedunchezhiyan) and Monte Carlo Masters (with Cuevas).
In Vietnam, the unseeded Indian pair of Myneni and Vijay Prashanth quelled the challenge of the Japanese combination of Go Soeda and Ben Mclachlan 7-6(3,) 7-6(5) in the summit clash of the US $50,000 event.
This is Myneni’s first title of the season and a maiden Challenger level trophy for Prashanth.
"It was a great week. We combined well and enjoyed ourselves. I still feel I have something left in singles but definitely I will focus on doubles too," Prashanth said.
Myneni, who missed most of the season due to injuries and has slipped to 724 in the singles rankings, gave a cryptic reply when asked if he would shift focus to doubles.
"Still the same plan as before, nothing has changed with me," he said, indicating that singles is still priority for him.
Divij Sharan and his British partner Scott Clayton ended runners-up at the Brest Challenger following a 4-6, 5-7 defeat to Sander Arends and Antonio Sancic.
After losing the opening set, Sharan and Clayton led 5-3 in the second set before dropping four games in a row.
It was the second consecutive final for Sharan, having won the European Open (ATP 250 event) with Scott Lipsky last week in Antwerp, Belgium.
