Yuki Bhambri wins Taipei Challenger, set to break back into top-100
Tennis | April 15, 2018 19:10 ISTYuki earned 125 ranking points and a prize purse of USD 21,600 while Ramkumar got 75 points and USD 12,720 for his effort.
Yuki earned 125 ranking points and a prize purse of USD 21,600 while Ramkumar got 75 points and USD 12,720 for his effort.
India will face China in the Asia/Oceania Group 1 second round at Tianjin, China on April 6-7.
Yuki will now meet world No 11 and eighth-seeded American Jack Sock in the second round of the tournament, having come through the qualifying round.
In his second and final ATP Miami Masters qualifying match, the 25-year-old eased past Ymer 7-5, 6-2 in a one-sided clash that lasted almost one and a half hour.
Yuki, who qualified for the Indian Wells Masters and went on to scalp world number 12 Lucas Puille, dispatched Argentina's Olivo 6-4 6-1 in the opening round of the USD 7,972,535 hard court event.
It has been a great tournament for Bhambri, who knocked out players of the calibre of two-time doubles Grand Slam winner Nicolas Mahut and world number 12 Lucas Pouille en route the third round.
In a stunning performance, the 110th ranked Yuki, who qualified for the main draw, dispatched the ninth seed Frenchman 6-4 6-4 in one hour and 19 minutes.
In his opening round in the main draw, Yuki will fight it out with fellow qualifier Nicolas Mahut, ranked 101, and if he manages to cross the first hurdle he will be up against world number 12 Lucas Pouille.
Yuki, seeded ninth, edged past America's Dennis Novikov 7-5, 7-5 while Ramkumar defeated Michael Mmoh 6-3, 7-5 in his first-round match in the qualifiers on Wednesday.
Bhambri booked his place in the semi-finals after defeating Japan's Yasutaka Uchiyama 5-7, 6-2, 6-4.
With the win, the 25-year-old Indian has now set up a clash against Lee Duck-hee of South Korea for a place in the summit showdown.
The 112-ranked Bhambri, who qualified for the Australian Open, will be looking for some momentum ahead of the long season, which also includes a Davis Cup tie against China.
Yuki Bhambri is yet to win a round in the main draw of a Grand Slam and the Australian Open is the only Major he has played.
Bhambri overcame a first set lapse to tame Canadian Peter Polansky 1-6 6-3 6-3 in the third and final qualifying round.
Bhambri, with an ATP ranking of 121 and ranked 15th in the qualifiers, for the second time in his career defeated Canadian Davis Cupper B. Schnur 1-6, 6-3, 6-4.
Bopanna and left-handed Jeevan were up against Gilles Simon and two-time Grand Slam champion Pierre-Hugues Herbert where they lost 3-6, 5-7 in one hour and 10 minutes.
In complete contrast to Bhambri, Ramkumar played with a lot of passion against the 2014 US Open champion and a Wimbledon finalist in 2017 before bowing out with a 4-6, 3-6 defeat in his second round.
Bhambri, ranked 116 in the world, had reached the second round when the ATP 250 event was played in Chennai in January 2017.
Yuki has long been India's big hope after winning the junior Australian Open in 2009 and prestigious Orange Bowl in the same year but consistent success at the highest level is yet to arrive for the Delhi-born player.
Ramanathan (142) comes to the main draw at the back of winning three titles in ITF Futures event.
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