India's Somdev Devvarman clinched his second gold in two days when he stunned top seeded Uzbek Denis Istomin 6-1, 6-2 in the Asian Games men's singles final on Tuesday.
The 25-year-old US-based player, who won the Commonwealth Games title in New Delhi in October, had teamed up with Sanam Singh to win the men's doubles on Monday.
Istomin, ranked 66 places above Devvarman, saw his gold-medal bid steadily unravel as he slipped 0-5 in the first set, a precarious position from which he never really recovered.
Devvarman was 3-1 ahead in the second set before the Uzbek briefly stopped the rot, but an eighth double fault of the final gave the Indian star a match point which he converted into gold when Istomin went wide with a forehand.
"It's beyond my expectations. I told you that I didn't really think about the gold medal," said Devvarman, who is the first man in 26 years to win a singles and doubles gold at the same Games.
"I just came over here to do my best. I am happy to win for my country."
Istomin, who had defeated Devvarman in both their previous meetings, was undone by 46 unforced errors to his opponent's 25.
"I played pretty badly," admitted the 24-year-old Uzbek, after adding a singles silver to his team runners-up finish.
"I couldn't concentrate on the match, I couldn't find my serves and missed a lot of balls."
Later Tuesday, China's Peng Shuai faces Akgul Amanmuradova of Uzbekistan in the women's singles final.
Source: AFP South Asian Edition
