Second seed Peter Clarke of Ireland lifted the ITF men's Satellite Masters tennis title, defeating Mohammad Salifu of Ghana after a hard-fought battle in Dehradun on Friday.

Clarke won 7-5, 6-7 (5/7), 6-4 for his third consecutive title, in the four-week circuit, at the Doon school.

Amid drizzle that disrupted the final twice, the finalists played entertaining tennis as the balance swung from one side to the other in the 2 hour 20 minute see-saw battle.

In the first set, Clarke and Salifu were neck and neck till 5-5 but the Irishman showed his forehand dexterity to clinch the opener. He broke his opponent thrice while also losing his serve twice.

Clarke also held the upper hand in the next set, leading 5-4 at one stage, but committed double-faults and a number of unforced errors on crucial points as the set went into the tie-breaker where he let slip away his advantageous position and eventually the set to Salifu.

In third and final set, Clarke got into a minor quarrel with the umpire, who issued him a warning for using abusive language when asked not to waste time.

But despite losing his nerve he recovered well and broke the Ghanaian twice to claim the title.

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