Singh wins Wichita Tennis Open singles title

Sanam Singh pumped his fist in excitement as he walked in front of the capacity crowd on Sunday at Sheldon Coleman Tennis Complex.

He had just defeated Mitchell Krueger in a tiebreaker for the Wichita Tennis Open men’s singles championship 7-6. 7-6. Not only had he just won the singles title, he won the doubles final on Saturday, winning every match he competed in over the week.

“It feels great, it doesn’t matter the tournament, coming out and winning both singles and doubles is a good feeling,” Singh said.

Singh’s quest for the title in singles wasn’t a cakewalk by any means.

Singh broke Krueger to tie at 5-5 in the first set, then Singh was able to get more energized after a racket abuse warning and came back to win his serve to go ahead 6-5. Krueger then forced the tiebreaker when he evened it at 6 games apiece.

During a back and forth tiebreaker, a ball near the line was ruled in and Singh was adamant that the ball was wide. Singh used his frustration to be more aggressive and won the tiebreaker to take the first set 7-6.

Singh came out after winning the first set, to go up 2-0 in the second set. Then both players traded off games, until Krueger won three straight starting in the ninthth game, as he had the advantage leading into the second tiebreaker of the day. Singh wasn’t going to let the set slip away from him, after many great serves and returns, he prevailed to win 7-6 and hoist the trophy.

“We both served well in the second set which made for an exciting set,” Singh said. “I think he played more of a loose first set, and then I turned around and played more loosely the second set.”

“Once again, I want to say the tournament was unbelievable, one of the nicer futures I’ve played in America,” Singh said. “The organization, the people, the hospitality was just all so good. I’m glad the tournament will be back here next year.”

This story was originally published July 5, 2015 at 7:23 PM with the headline "Singh wins Wichita Tennis Open singles title."