Nearing the home stretch of the regular season, things are heating up at the Düsseldorf Masters. In the previous edition, the fourth of seven, Germany's world #244 Cedric Meissner swept Kanak Jha of USA, world #30, in the semifinals. Meissner went on to lose to Egypt's Omar Assar in the finals, but padded his overall lead in the points standings. This weekend, in the fifth edition of the Masters, Kanak Jha avenged his loss to Meissner with a proportionate response: an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth, a sweep in the semis for a sweep in the semis. This landed Jha a spot in the finals with Benedikt Duda, a left-handed German ranked 41st in the world. In the opening game, Jha is aggressive but out of rhythm, making numerous unforced errors. Duda wins, 11-4. In the second frame, Jha maintains his attacking spirit, often stepping around to open with the backhand banana flick at every opportunity. His aggressive approach, coupled with some much-needed accuracy, nets the American an 11-7 win. All tied up, the players trade mini-runs in game three. With Duda leading 9-7, the first highlight reel-quality point emerges, a furious counterlooping rally which Jha wins to pull within one. Duda holds on to win, 11-9, and pull within one game of the title. Both players put on a forehand clinic in the fourth set, but it is Jha's combination of power and accuracy which proves superior. Jha levels the match, punctuated with an emphatic inside-out forehand on game point. Game five sees high-quality play from both finalists. Tied at 3-all, Duda pulls ahead, 6-3, 7-4, only to see Jha catch up at 7-all. Then Jha turns conservative in his old age, ceding the initiative to an all-too willing Duda, who pulls ahead 9-7. Serving, Jha returns to his aggressive roots, only to watch as Duda catches an edge, and with it, three match points. He would only need one, however, a forehand loop kill to Jha's body the coup de grâce. With the win, Benedikt Duda pulls into third place in the season-long points race. While Jha has yet to play up to his level, he still has two more regular season tournaments to position himself for the playoffs. There, he will be a dangerous opponent, especially for anyone who has gotten the best of him recently. As Cedric Meissner will tell you, Kanak Jha does not get mad. He gets even.

More at Butterfly Online