Prakash Amritraj heads
for U.S. Open

An Amritraj will once again grace the U.S. Open tennis championships main draw more than a decade after brothers Vijay and Anand represented India at the Grand Slam.

Vijay's son Prakash won the United States Tennis Association Under-18s Super National Hard Court Championships on Sunday to earn a wildcard into the last Grand Slam of the year later this month.

Seeded No. 2 in ther boys' under-18 tournament, Prakash beat Douglas Stewart 5-7, 6-3, 6-4, 6-2 in the best-of-five final at the Stowe stadium in Kalamazoo.

Stewart had beaten number one seed Brian Baker in the semi-finals.

Amritraj is ineligible to compete in the US Junior Open as he will complete 19 in October.

Speaking after the triumph, Amritraj said: "Doug came out playing so well. He was hitting the ball harder, deeper, which counters my game, which is coming in. Running me sideline to sideline in the heat was really cutting me short of energy, which I need to serve and volley.

"At that point, I told myself, 'If you're gonna go down, go down like a man. Go down at the net.' "

The girls' event was won by 17-year-old Alexandra Podkolzina of Concord, California.

The USTA awards wildcards to the winners of the Super National Championships. A full list of wildcards will be announced later in the week.