Dubai: Dubai's Navdeep Singh has created a stir in the International Tennis Federation (ITF) Satellite tennis circuit being held in India.
Singh stunned top seeded Herbert Wiltschnig of Austria 6-4, 6-3 in the final of the third leg of the ITF Satellite tennis at the Delhi Lawn Tennis Association (DLTA) complex on Saturday.
Wiltschnig is one of the most experienced players in the tennis circuit and had beaten even players like Tim Henman in Rolland Garros.
Singh, who just turned 20 on February 21, revealed his tremendous potential in this tournament defeating players ranked much higher than him in the earlier rounds. By virtue of this victory, Singh, who is ranked 1049, will climb up in the ranking to around 700 to emerge as the highest ranked expatriate player in the UAE tennis history.
"It was great to score an emphatic victory over a top player. It has boosted my confidence to do better against stronger players," remarked Singh from New Delhi to Gulf News.
Singh displayed his resolve in the final and handled the challenge from Wiltschnig, who had dropped only two sets in his last 14 matches over three weeks. Incidentally, no Indian had crossed the singles quarterfinals in this keenly fought first two legs.
Singh pocketed $8,125 (Dh25,000) and picked up 21 circuit points to give him the second seeding in the Masters to be played from today.
Singh's proud father D.J. Singh has rushed to India to see his son in action in the Masters event.
