Mysuru, Apr 2 (PTI) George Loffhagen claimed the singles title in the ITF Mysuru Open 2023, beating Australia’s Ellis Blake in a thrilling three-setter at the Mysore Tennis Club here on Sunday.
The match offered several twists and turns before the unseeded Briton prevailed over the eighth seeded Aussie 4-6 6-2 7-6 (4) in 2 hours and 49 minutes.
“It was a really good tournament and I enjoyed playing here a lot. The final was a tough match and I was able to stay in the match after losing that first set. It has been a bit tiring but good to have been able to win the title,” said Loffhagen after the match.
Blake started the proceedings in a clinical fashion bagging the first set 6-4. But Loffhagen struck back strongly in the second and a double break of serve enabled the British player, world No 702, to level at 1-set all.
Both Loffhagen and Blake went neck-to-neck in the decider before the latter effected a break in the ninth game to go 5-4 up.
Blake stood within breathing space of wrapping up the match when he served for the match at 5-4 but Loffhagen showed his fighting spirit to break back to make the scoreline 5-5.
The opportunity that slipped away seemed to have affected the concentration of Blake as he could not focus on critical points in the tie-break. Loffhagen closed out the set and match with ease as he upped the level of his serves too.
Source: PTI News
