Bengaluru is turning out to be a happy hunting ground for Pune lad Arjun Kadhe.
The 28-year-old, fresh from winning the singles title in Bhopal last week, moved one step closer to a successive trophy as he reached the final of the $15,000 ITF SKME Open in Bengaluru on Saturday.
The Hemant Bendrey student also won the doubles title with Julian Cash of Britain, repeating the success he had tasted in the Bengaluru Open Challenger tournament in February.
In the singles semifinals at the KSLTA Stadium, fifth seed Kadhe overcame 18-year-old Maks Kasnikowski 3-6, 6-4, 6-2 to seal his place in the Sunday's final.
Intriguingly, in the summit clash he will be up against compatriot Sidharth Rawat, whom he had beaten in the Bhopal final.
Rawat overcame Tamil Nadu youngster Manish Sureshkumar 6-2, 7-5 to set up a rematch with Kadhe.
Kadhe then joined hands with Cash to win the doubles title, the top seeds edging out Sasikumar Mukund and Vishnu Vardhan 7-6 (5), 3-6, 10-7.
In the first singles semifinals, Kadhe and Kasnikowski held their serves until the fifth game after which the Pole won four games in a row to take the opening set.
Kadhe then took a 4-2 lead before taking the second set and took the match into the decider where he took complete command.
Kasnikowski could hold his serve only in the first and seventh games as Kadhe, who sent down 11 aces during the match, cruised in the final set and clinched the match.
