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Published on August 17, 2007

Danai Udomchoke ended his maiden and perhaps his last Universiade on a high note, coming from behind to win a heart-pounding match in the men's singles final against an inspired An Jae-sung of South Korea in front of a jubilant home crowd yesterday.

An astonishing 2,500-strong crowd turned up at the LTAT National Tennis Centre to root for their hero, who scored a 3-6 6-1 7-6 (8-6) victory in the toughest and also the longest match of the tournament that lasted two hours and 40 minutes.

The two competitors exchanged the leads, taking turns in calling for a therapist as well when on the verge of defeat. No one could predict the outcome of the epic fight until the inexperienced South Korean sent a forehand long on match point.

"It was a miracle to come back and win the match," said a delighted Danai. "It came down to the last point. I'm so glad to win my first and last Universiade gold because I will be too old for the next Games," said the 27-year-old.

He entered the final as the odds-on favourite but once on court never appeared like one who could pull it from the precipice of defeat.

He had cramps, injuries to his knee and foot but most importantly fell behind at 3-5 in the final set and again at 1-4 in the tie-break.

Even when he had a match point at 7-6, victory was not guaranteed. A limping Danai called for medical time out as his knees started cramping. It began to affect him when he was 2-5 in the decider. The gutsy Danai had no other choice but to give it a fight. How could he surrender when the crowd, defying the heat and humidity in the arena, were rooting for him.

"Part of this comeback win was because of the crowd. I never thought it would be so big. I really thank them for being out there for me," said the law student of Bangkok University.

"I was so tense that I developed cramps. I was really under great pressure from the start which was the reason why I didn't play well in the first set," added Danai who emulated Sonchat and Sanchai Ratiwatana, the twins who won the doubles gold the day before.

An, though ranked only 400 in the world, played as if he had nothing to lose.

He was just one game away from the gold at 5-3, serving for the third set.

But the mind began to wilt at the crucial stage.

"I was thinking of the gold but had to settle for a silver, which is OK. I'm satisfied with the way I played the match," said the 22-year-old who called for on court treatment to his back at 1-0 in the third set.

In the women's final, former junior Wimbledon and US Open doubles junior champion, Alisa Kleybanova of Russia beat Estonia's Margit Ruutel 6-1 6-2.

"It's been a tough week for me. I had to play a lot of matches and under the heat. I had to change my game and timing as Thailand is five hours ahead of Russia," said the former junior world No 3 who was overwhelmed by the glorious victory.

"This gold medal means a lot to me because I'm not representing myself but also my country and university,"

said the Physical Education student of the Russian State University. She lost only three games but had to hang around for 85 minutes under the cruel heat.

"The score looks easy but the match was not. It was difficult to play in the afternoon on the centre court. It's more difficult to stay alive out there rather to play tennis," the Russian joked.

The Estonian, on her first visit to Bangkok, had no answers to the Russian's power game.

"I wanted to win the gold but she played better and deserved it. It's my first time here and I'm so proud to represent my country," said Ruutel, 23.

In the mixed doubles final, Kleybanova and Alexander Krasnorutskiy of Russia beat Pavel Snobel and Eva Hrdinova of the Czech Republic 6-7 (7-9) 6-4 6-4.

Lerpong Amsa-ngiam

The Nation