Shokeen sees off Prasanth

The local boy began the match with a break of serve,but got broken back soon after,displaying a few racquet-throwing tantrums as he searched for a way to make the first set his own. Prasanth was able to hold his own from the back of the court — an area where Shokeen’s strength lies and where he employs his powerful forehand to its maximum advantage. His blistering groundstrokes,though,were finding a ready answer in his opponent’s racket on Monday,and a change of strategy was essential if Shokeen had to fight his way to a win.

He figured out a solution with some fine play at the net,deft volleys cutting off points before the player from Tamil Nadu could react. The crucial break came in the 11th game,and Shokeen wrapped up the first set 7-5.

The second set began with more of the same — the local favourite breaking in the first game,but losing the plot thereafter. There were a few more racquet-smashing antics,and when Prasanth broke in the second and eighth games,a three-setter looked extremely likely. But it was a tie-break which came up instead,after Shokeen levelled the score with a break in the ninth. He eventually won the match 7-5 7-6 (5).

In another match,Vijay Kannan dismissed wild card Abhijeet Tiwari 6-2 6-4. Vijayant Malik,another wild card,stretched qualifier Takuto Niki to three sets,but that was all he could do as he lost 6-2 5-7 6-4. Seventh seed Sean Thornley of Great Britain defeated Arata Onozawa 7-5 7-5.