Rithvik and Niki win fourth doubles title in a row

Champions: Rithvik Bollipalli and Niki Poonacha at the $25,000 ITF tennis tournament in Mumbai on Saturday.
| Photo Credit: Special Arrangement

Fourth seed Dominik Palan knocked out the top seed and champion of the last tournament Oliver Crawford of USA 7-6(5), 6-1 in the $25,000 ITF men’s tennis tournament organised by MSLTA at the GA Ranade Centre on Saturday.

In the other semifinal, Digvijay Pratap Singh retired early in the second set after losing the first against Ryuki Matsuda of Japan.

In the doubles final, second seeds Rithvik Bollipalli and Niki Poonacha won their fourth successive title, beating the top seeds Vladyslav Orlov of Ukraine and Vishnu Vardhan for the loss of four games.

It was the sixth title of the season for the Indian pair, which had won in Monastir, Tunisia, apart from the last two in Delhi and Indore. Interestingly, it was the fifth title in the last six weeks for Bollipalli and Poonacha.

The results:

Singles (semifinals): Dominik Palan (Cze) bt Oliver Crawford (USA) 7-6(5), 6-1; Ryuki Matsuda (Jpn) bt Digvijay Pratap Singh 6-4, 1-0 (retired).

Doubles (final): Rithvik Bollipalli & Niki Poonacha bt Vladyslav Orlov (Ukr) & Vishnu Vardhan 6-2, 6-2.