Akgul wins NECC-ITF Tennis Circuit

Pune: Top seed Akgul Amanmuradova of Uzbekistan won a grand double when she pipped second seed Rushmi Chakravarthi of India 6-0 7-6 (7-5) in the women's singles final of the USD 10,000 prize money NECC-ITF Tennis Circuit here today. Akgul and Sai Jayalakshmi of India had outplayed Wilavan Choptang and Thassa Vitayaviroj of Thailand to win the doubles title yesterday. Akgul, who is ranked 334 in the world, ended the challenge of Indian veteran, ranked 337, in one hour 30 minutes to retain the women's singles title. Rushmi, who was outplayed in the first set, failed to win even a single game. However, she showed her determination not to give up easily in the second, with some attacking tennis caught her rival on the wrong foot forcing the tie-break. Akgul broke Rushmi's serve in the seventh game but dropped her own in the tenth game which resulted in a tie-breaker. Akgul belted out six aces against two by Rushmi, who fought gamely despite nursing a shoulder injury suffered recently at Tashkent, despite trailing 0-3 in the tie-breaker. Despite levelling the tie-break score at 3-all, the Indian could not stop her rival from winning the tie-break 7-5 as Akgul's return of serve was breath taking. (PTI)