NEW DELHI, Nov 4: It began with a bang. Then, it was the all-too-familiar, anti-climactic ending. Vasudeva Reddy, the National hardcourt champion, finally played near his potential and played a brand of tennis quite unseen in the country in recent times.

Tottering near the edge at 1-4 in the first rubber for India A against the Indonesians, Reddy won the next 11 games to wrap up his tie against Sulistyo Wibowo. Then, he watched his colleagues flounder without even winning a set in the second singles and the doubles.

Thus, India A squandered an opportunity to enter the semifinals on a day when Mahesh Bhupathi blanked Samrej Vittaya to ensure the Seniors' entry into the semifinals demolishing Thailand 3-0.

If Reddy's emphatic win was one of the bright spots today, the degeneration of Gaurav Natekar was complete when he and Vikram Venkatraghavan could not put up a decent fight in the doubles.

The Seniors, meanwhile, stuck to their task with Sandeep Kirtane demonstrating poise and confidence while notching up his second straight win of the tournament; in straight sets.

The big matches for the Seniors begins tomorrow when they take on Uzbekistan. Then on, it would be Leander Paes and Bhupathi to make sure that the hosts stick to the script.

Results (round robin): Group A: Uzbekistan bt Philippines 3-0 (Vadim Kutsenko bt Bryan Juinio 7-6 (3), 7-5; Dmitry Tomashevich bt Joseph Lizardo 6-2, 6-4; Timur Khankhodjaev/Dmitry Tomashevich bt Bryan Juninio/ Robert Angelo 6-2, 3-6, 6-4.)

India bt Thailand 3-0: (Sandeep Kirtane bt Virat Baerrohim 6-0, 6-4; Mahesh Bhupathi bt Vittaya Samrej 6-0, 6-0; Leander Paes/Nitin Kirtane bt Virat/Vorapol Thongkamchoo 6-0, 6-2).

Group B: Indonesia bt India A 2-1 (Sulistyo Wibowo lost to Vasudeva Reddy 6-4, 6-0; Andrian Raturandang bt Vikram Venkatraghavan 6-3, 6-2; Wibowo/Bonit Wiryawan bt Gaurav Natekar/Vikram Venkatraghavan 6-3, 6-2).

South Korea bt Chinese Taipei 3-0 (Kim Nam-Hoon bt Chang Wei Jen 6-3, 6-2; Kim Dong-Hyun bt Chang Jinn Yen 6-2, 6-2; Kim Nam-Hoon/Kim Dong-Hyun bt Chien Jui Yu/Cheng Wei Jen 7-6 (6), 6-0).

Copyright © 1997 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.