The Hindu : Sport : Amritraj beats Bopanna; makes last four

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Sport

Amritraj beats Bopanna; makes last four

Amritraj meets Dancevic in the semifinals
Prakash’s father Vijay is a former winner at Newport

— FILE PHOTO

ON A ROLL: Prakash Amritraj had an easy outing against Rohan Bopanna in the quarterfinals of the Hall of Fame tennis championships.

NEW DELHI: Prakash Amritraj was happy to make his maiden ATP Tour event singles semifinals, beating his friend Rohan Bopanna in the quarterfinals of the Hall of Fame tennis championship at Newport, Rhode Island.

The 24-year-old son of Vijay Amritraj, who incidentally is a former champion, Prakash may have taken Bopanna for breakfast in his 6-4, 6-3 win, that fetched him a semifinal berth against the seventh-seeded Frank Dancevic of Canada, but that did not alter his dinner plans.

Unfortunate

“It is never easy to play a close friend. We have been eating together as normal each night and we did so after the match. So, we really just left business on the court. It is unfortunate that we both had to play each other in the quarters, as I felt that we were both playing well enough to go further in the event,” said Amritraj, when contacted in the United States by The Hindu.

In fact, Bopanna, who had to endure the qualifying event, was playing so good that he had put out the top-seeded Mardy Fish, the Athens Olympics singles silver medallist, in straight sets in the second round.

Having beaten the big-serving giant, John Isner of the U.S. in the second round, wild card Amritraj has been confident about his form.

“I feel like I have a good rhythm right now. I am maturing as a competitive professional. My main concern right now, to progress further, is simply to stay healthy,” he said.

It has been a tough exercise for Amritraj to return to the circuit after a wrist surgery, as it had taken him away from the tour when he was playing some of his best tennis. He had made it to the quarterfinals of the Newport event last year and had followed that with a final appearance at the Aptos Challenger. Afterwards, he had to make do with a token appearance at the U.S. Open before resorting to corrective surgery on the wrist.

“Coming back from the wrist surgery was difficult. I finally feel completely healthy. I think the biggest difference in my play is being mentally more focused and extremely positive. All the great champions ooze positive energy, and it is a huge advantage. That is my focus now,” he said.

Pressure

There was considerable pressure of defending points, as he had made 72 of his total 116 points from those two events, to be placed 305 in the world at the moment.

‘’I always feel that pressure can either make or break you. I was able to get my mind to focus on nothing but the tennis, the simple and basic tasks that lie ahead of me,” he said.

As the semifinalist, Amritraj has already assured himself of 75 ATP points, and can breathe a lot more easily when he plays the Aptos Challenger next week.

Does that hint at a good US Open?

“I am not concerned about peaking for any single event as the U.S. Open. I really just want to stay healthy and focus on playing well week after week regardless of where I am. I believe that it would eventually get me into the top 100”, he said.

The fine string of victories will possibly play a key part in him getting the nod for the Davis Cup World Group play-off against Romania in September, on clay.

“The selection is not in my hands. As has been the case in the past, when India calls, I will step on the court and bleed orange, white and green to get the victory.

“The more the odds are stacked against you, the greater the victory if you are able to pull it off. So I will take the necessary steps, whether it be training or competing on clay, and will be prepared for battle in Romania,” said Amritraj.

Of course, his immediate focus is to find a way past Dancevic to the title round in Newport.

The results (Quarterfinals): At Newport: ATP Hall of Fame Championship: Frank Dancevic bt Igor Kunitsyn 7-5, 6-3; Prakash Amritraj bt Rohan Bopanna 6-4, 6-3.

Vince Spadea bt Alexander Peya 7-6(3), 7-5.

At Bastad: ATP Swedish Open: David Ferrer bt Robin Soderling 7-5, 6-7(3), 6-1; Fernando Verdasco bt Bjorn Rehnquist 2-6, 6-1, 6-0; Thomas Berdych bt Potito Starace 6-3, 6-2 .

At Stuttgart: ATP Mercedes Cup: Richard Gasquet bt Albert Montanes 6-3, 7-6(5); Agustin Calleri bt Michael Berrer 6-4, 6-2; Eduardo Schwank bt Jan Hernych 6-0, 4-6, 6-3.

At Gstaad: ATP Swiss Open: Stanislas Wawrinka bt Guillermo Canas 4-6, 6-4, 7-6(2); Guillermo Garcia-Lopez bt Mikhail Youzhny 4-6, 7-5, 6-3; Igor Andreev bt Marin Cilic 7-6(4), 6-3; Victor Hanescu bt Jeremy Chardy 6-3, 7-6(3).