Second seeded Gregory Carraz of France lifted the singles title in the $25,000 Indian Oil Servo ATP Challenger in Bangalore on Saturday after scoring a convincing 6-4, 7-6 (7/4) victory over Belgium's Gilles Elseneer.
It was the 28-year-old Carraz's first Challenger title of an injury-hit career.
"I am really very, very happy," the Frenchman said after the one-and-half hour encounter at the Karnataka State Lawn Tennis Association courts.
The Frenchman said the title is doubly satisfying as he had lost in the Challenger final at Milan in Italy in November last year at 8-10 in the tie-breaker of the decider.
"I kept focussed on what I had to do," said Carraz, who has now set his eyes on the coming French Open in Paris.
For his efforts, he took home a cheque for $3,600.
Carraz went on to score a grand double. He paired with compatriot Rodolphe Cadard to win the doubles crown too. The pair beat Yves Allegro (Switzerland) and Jean-Francois Bachelot (France) 6-4, 6-4 in the final.
Carraz, basically a serve and volley player, started off on a confident note against his eighth seeded opponent. He broke Elseneer in the seventh game of the first set to take a 4-3 lead and then held on to his own.
In the second set, both players did not drop serve, leading to the tie-breaker. Though Elsenner took a 2-0 lead in the tie-breaker, he seemed to be under pressure as Carraz played really well to regain composure to clinch the issue.
Elseneer pocketed $2,120.
The second leg of the event takes off in Delhi on Monday.
