Bopanna romps into final

Up-and-coming Indian junior Rohan Bopanna beat Meir Deri of Israel 6-3, 7-6 (8/6) to move into the final of the $10,000 ITF men's Futures tennis tournament in Delhi on Friday.

He will meet Uzbekistan's Dmitri Mazur, who quelled the challenge of second seed Lee Childs of Britain 6-4, 2-6, 6-2 in the other semi-final.

Irrespective of Saturday's result, Bopanna is assured of at least one title, thanks to 6-4, 6-4 drubbing he and Vijay Kannan handed out to Thai twins Sonchai Ratiwatana and Sanchat Ratiwatana in the doubles final on Friday afternoon.

Kannan and Bopanna's victory is their second in three weeks. They had won the title in the ITF event in Colombo and finished runners-up in Chennai last week.

Bopanna's win in the doubles should also strengthen his chances of a place in the Davis Cup team which takes on New Zealand from April 5 to 7.

The Asian junior champion from Karnataka has improved leaps and bounds since last season and holds a lot of promise for the future.

Bopanna was beaten by Deri in the Chennai leg of the tournament last week. On Friday, he had a measure of revenge.

Fifth seeded Mazur, on the other hand, had to work hard to overcome an inconsistent Childs. It was a stop-start match, with each player dropping serve with amazing regularity. But in the end, it was the Uzbek's better concentration and staying power which won him the day.

Earlier reports
Bopanna advances, Srinath exits
Three Indians in last eight
Vishal Uppal shocks third seed Mark Hilton
Sridhar, Sipaeya lose in first round