Aisam Qureshi of Pakistan overcame a slow start to edge past India's top-ranked player Rohan Bopanna in the final of the US$ 15,000 ITF Futures in New Delhi on Saturday.
Qureshi beat Bopanna, who had not dropped a set enroute to the final, 2-6, 6-3, 6-3 at the RK Khanna stadium to capture his first title of the season.
Bopanna, teaming up with Mustafa Ghouse, had gone down 3-6, 4-6 to Alexey Kedriouk of Kazakhstan and Sunil Kumar in the doubles final on Friday.
Qureshi maintained the clean slate against his Indian opponent, as he fought back from a set down to win the match in just over an hour.
Bopanna started the match positively, and though the Pakistani saved three break points in his first game, he raced of to a 4-1 lead. With Qureshi struggling with his serve and not moving well on the foggy Delhi morning, Bopanna took charge with his big groundstrokes and some cracking passing shots.
But once Qureshi warmed up to the challenge and found his rhythm, he ran over the Indian Davis Cupper with his aggressive serve and volley tactics. He broke Bopanna's serve in the third and the ninth game to carry the momentum into the deciding set.
The Indian tried to run him close and had a couple of break points but could not keep the unforced errors in check. He missed some easy put-aways and even the close line calls went in favour of Qureshi, as Bopanna handed over the match without much resistance.
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