Prakash Amritraj and Karan Rastogi set up a third successive ITF Futures final against each other after winning their semi-final matches in contrasting styles in Delhi on Friday.
While the fifth seeded Amritraj rallied from a set down to beat fourth seed Sunil Kumar Sipaeya 3-6, 6-4, 6-4, top seed Rastogi hardly broke a sweat in a 6-4, 6-1 victory over Vishnu Vardhan in the semi-finals of the US $10,000 event.
Amritraj is chasing a third successive ITF Futures title, having won the Chandigarh and Dehradun legs, beating Rastogi in both finals.
Having won all his matches in the tournament in straight sets, Amritraj was in for a tougher challenge on Friday as Sipaeya matched him shot for shot before breaking him in the fifth game.
An attempted volley by the fifth seed landed outside, giving Sipaeya the initiative. Amritraj also struggled with his movement on the baseline and was caught off guard by his opponent's fierce forehand returns at times.
He was broken again in the ninth game as Sipaeya pocketed the first set.
However, the US-based player was quick to make amends and broke Sipaeya in the first game of the second set. His baseline shots left a lot to be desired but he was impregnable at the net. After committing two double-faults in the opening set, Amritraj also got his serve in order and sent down four aces besides having a better first serve to level the set score.
The decider could have been closer had it not been for some weak shots by Sipaeya at crucial junctures. Amritraj continued to beat Sipaeya at the net and the frustration of missing some easy hits showed as Sipaeya lost his cool.
The 24-year-old shouted at himself and flung his racquet to vent his anger as Amritraj tightened his grip on the match by breaking in the fifth game.
The fifth seed finally wrapped up the match after breaking again in the 10th game.
Meanwhile, it turned out to be a rather easy outing for Rastogi despite a not-too-good start. The top seed was broken in the third game after committing a double fault at 15-40. He was broken again in the seventh game before he broke back in the eighth with a stunning backhand winner.
Leading 5-4, Rastogi clinched the opener after Vardhan committed a double fault.
The second set was hardly a contest as Rastogi raced to a 5-0 lead. Vardhan did manage to win a game from there but it was too late as Rastogi sealed the issue with a good first serve.
Sanam - Tushar win doubles
Sanam Singh and Tushar Liberhan clinched doubles title, beating Chinese Taipei's Hsin-Han Lee and Tsun-Hua Yang in straight sets in the final.
The Indian pair defeated Lee and Yang 6-4, 7-5.
Sanam and Tushar were hardly tested and except for the five faults that they committed, the Indians gave no chance to their opponents.
The local favourites broke Lee and Yang once before winning the first set.
The second was a bit closer, as the Taipei pair tried to claw back into the match but the effort proved inadequate.
Sanam and Tushar were also aided by Lee's problems with a thigh strain which affected his movement. Both pairs held serve until the 10th game before the Taipei duo was broken.
A mishit lob by Lee and Yang landed way outside as Sanam and Tushar tightened their grip over the match. Serving for championship, the Indian pair earned three break points.
Lee and Yang did manage to save one but Sanam and Tushar converted the next to take the winners' trophy.
They had earlier scored an upset win over fourth seeds Vijay Kannan and
Vinod Sridhar in the semi-finals on Thursday.
