Bengaluru, Former Asian Games medallist and Davis Cupper Vishnu Vardhan of Telangana was back to winning ways as he claimed the AITA Rs 1 lakh men's tennis title here on Saturday, beating Karnataka's Maanva Jain in straight sets in the final.

 

In the summit clash, the 34-year-old doubles specialist made it look like a formality when he quashed the dreams of first-time finalist Maanav Jain with a clinical 6-1, 6-2 victory to claim the winn'r's trophy.

Jain looked nervous while facing his experienced and fancied rival, clearly bogged down by his opponent's reputation. It trickled into his game as he choked in the first set. Vishnu Vardhan played some superb returns and relied on his experience to cruise through the first set.

The local lad seemed to come out of the shock and looked a bit relaxed in the second set as he played better but had to succumb to the sheer power of Vishnu.

"It is very nice to play competitive tennis after two years and nicer to win and I hope to keep the momentum," said Vishnu Vardhan after his victory.

Talking about his rival, Vishnu said that he was under pressure. "He was playing his first final and had nothing to lose. He is a young kid and I thought he would give it all considering his progress to the final but I got a good start and I carried the same until the end," said the champion who is currently ranked 324 in the world in doubles.

Results (seedings in pre-fix, states in b'ackets)
Men's singles final: 5-Vishnu Vardhan (TS) bt Maanav Jain (KA) 6-1, 6-2.