Divij Sharan wins first ITF title

A gritty Divij Sharan raised his game when it mattered most to beat top seed Aqeel Khan of Pakistan to lift the ITF Satellite Masters title at the DLTA Comlpex in New Delhi on Friday

Sharan beat the Pakistani Davis Cupper 7-5, 6-4 to win the fourth leg of the tournament. Aqeel had won the second week of the Satellite, beating India's Ravi-Shankar Pathanjali 7-6(7) 6-4 in the final.

Aqeel had run off with a 5-0 lead in the first set but the 20-year-old Indian showed great resilience and won the next seven games in a row to walk away with the set.

Things were easier in the second set and Sharan kept his cool to upstage his rival and win the match for his first major tournament victory.

Aqeel, however, had some consolation in the doubles where the Pakistani partnered with Vishal Punna to beat Divij and Navdeep Singh 6-3, 6-4 to win the title.