Yuki Bhambri recovered from a tricky situation to subdue wild card Arjun Kadhe 7-5, 6-1 in the pre-quarterfinals of the $10,000 ITF men’s Futures tennis tournament at the DLTA Complex on Wednesday.
The 21-year-old Bhambri lost focus for a short while after taking a 4-2 lead in the first set, but saved two set points on serve in the 10th game to race through without much fuss thereafter.
The match was a wake-up call for him, said Bhambri, adding that it would help him stay focused on the matches ahead, particularly in the next round against Karunuday Singh.
Credit should be given to Kadhe, who was the runner-up at the last two National championships, for the way he played with conviction, albeit briefly. “He went for broke…big shots and great serve…,” said Bhambri.
Bhambri, the World No.204, said he was pleased to have kept it relatively short as his primary focus is on the wild-card play-off for the Australian Open in China next week.
Bhambri, who came up with a string of drop shots to catch his opponent off balance, observed that he did so to keep himself entertained.
Second-seeded Jeevan Nedunchezhiyan weathered Vijay Sundar Prashanth’s physical game after losing the first set on a tie-breaker. He next faces Vishnu Vardhan, who outplayed Shaikh Abdullah.
Third-seeded Sriram Balaji was teased a bit as he got off the blocks slow, and was broken in the first game. But he went on to shut out National grass court champion R. Ramkumar 4-6, 6-3, 6-2.
The results: Singles: Pre-quarterfinals: Yuki Bhambri bt Arjun Kadhe 7-5, 6-1; Karunuday Singh bt Kaza Vinayak Sharma 6-1, 6-1; Siddharth Rawat bt Akash Wagh 6-3, 4-6, 6-4; Torsten Wietoska (Ger) bt Luca Margaroli (Sui) 6-4, 6-4; Jui-Chen Hung (Tpe) bt Danilar Duladaev (Kgz) 2-6, 6-3, 6-3; Sriram Balaji bt R. Ramkumar 4-6, 6-3, 6-2; Vishnu Vardhan bt Shaikh Abdullah 6-2, 6-3; Jevan Nedunchezhiyan bt Vijay Sundar Prashanth 6-7(2), 6-1, 6-3.
Doubles: Quarterfinals: Balaji & V.M. Ranjeet bt Chandril Sood & Lakshit Sood 6-4, 6-3; Ashutosh Singh & Vishnu bt Timon Reichelt & Torsten Wietoska (Ger) 6-2, 7-6(4); Duldaev & Timur Khabibulin (Kaz) bt Hung (Tpe) & Warit Sornbutnark (Tha) 1-6, 7-6(1), 10-8; Ramkumar & Ashwin Vijayragavan bt Vinayak Sharma & Akash Wagh 6-3, 6-2.
