Later, 28-year-old Nitin Kirtane took home the Rs 40,000 booty with a three set win against 18-year-old Vijay Kannan in the men's singles final.As for Sai, she will be haunted for long by today morning's lingering memory. Up one set and 3-1 in the second she had absolutely no business to let up. And that sort of downturn is definitely surprising for one who admits that mental strength is her biggest asset.

Though the packed stands never erupted except for Sai, the Krishnan Academy trainee has only herself to blame for today's heartbreak. Though both the girls were hitting their hearts out, there was not the slightest hint of any method behind themindless hitting. Yes, the angles were impressive, and Sai occasionally ventured up and put away high volleys, but she did nothing to make Uzma sweat, nothing to upset her rhythm. Compared to the women's final, the men's was far more cerebral. Despite the starting trouble, Nitin was very clear about what he wanted to do out there. He conserved his energy well, kept his backhand slice low, cut out all the pace and left very little scope for Vijay to manoeuvre.

Results (Men's singles): Nitin Kirtane bt Vijay Kannan 6-4, 6-3, 6-4.

Boys under-18: Vijayendra Laad bt Akshay Vishal Rao 6-3, 2-6, 6-3

Women's: Uzma Khan bt Sai Jayalakshmi 3-6, 6-3, 6-4. Girls under-18: Uzma Khan bt Shruti Dhawan 6-0, 6-0