体坛英语新闻：Australia's Melzer wins ITF Men' s circuit final in Kampala

KAMPALA, Sept. 25 (Xinhua) -- Left-handed Gerald Melzer from Australia showed his prowess on Saturday when he won the men's singles title of the International Tennis Federation (ITF) Circuit here in Kampala.

Melzer, who also won the third round of the circuit in Rwanda a week ago, stopped giant killer Takanyi Garanganga 6-4, 6-4 in a match that lasted 1 hour 41 minutes.

"I am very happy with the way I responded today especially after battling in a tough semifinal against Leonte Bogdan Victor yesterday," said Melzer after his victory.

To reach the final, the Australian had to battle his way past the Romanian 6-7, 7-6, 6-3 in a match that kept spectators on their toes on Friday.

The unseeded Garanganga, who had upset the tournament's top seed Middelkoop Matwe in the first round, failed to find his rhythm as Melzer had adequate answers for almost all his strokes.

"Having travelled all the way from the United States and entering the tournament unseeded, I am very happy to reach the finals of a very competitive event with many talented and experienced players," the Zimbabwean told Xinhua after the final.

Melzer also bagged the men's doubles trophy on Friday evening when he paired with Egypt's Mohamed Safwat to defeat Garanganga and Uganda's top seed Duncan Mugabe 7-6, 6-2.

"I have to correct my mistakes when I head to the Commonwealth Games on Monday. I will try to put what I learnt in this tournament into practice," said Mugabe, who bowed out in the first round of this ITF sanctioned tournament.

The one-week tournament attracted players from the Netherlands, Zimbabwe, India, Russia, Mauritius, Egypt, Burundi, Nigeria, Britain, Belgium, South Korea, Argentina, South Africa, Australia and hosts Uganda.