Saketh Myneni has a languid style about him, not too fussy, but still getting the job done. But make no mistake; he packs a mean serve and his change of direction while retrieving is fluid and smooth considering his 6’4” frame.
All of this was on display as the tournament third seed and only Indian remaining in the fray — Sanam Singh was ousted in an earlier match — made light of his quarterfinal encounter against fifth seed Yannick Mertens of Belgium in the $50,000 AirAsia Open ATP Challenger at the KSLTA stadium here on Friday afternoon. Myneni won 6-3, 7-6(6).
A change of direction it was that got Myneni his first break-point in the first set in game four. Expecting a return to go to his backhand, Myneni screeched to a stop, turned around and whipped out a forehand winner. Up a break, he quickly wrapped up the set and the only thing of note that happened till 4-all in the second was when Myneni had his left-thigh strapped.
Things got interesting only in game 11 when from 30-love down on Mertens’s serve Myneni achieved the break. But the Indian duly handed the break back to the Belgian when he missed as easy overhead put-away.
Bouncing back Mertens took a 3-1 lead in the tie-breaker and even had his chance at set-point on 6-5 but walked away with only a wry smile after Myneni’s smash at his foot left him with no room to manoeuvre. Three points later Myneni was through to the semifinals.
Waiting for him there is the tournament No. 1, Adrian Menendez-Maceiras, who saw off another Belgian — Arthur de Greef — in a match characterised by heavy vocalisation from both players.
Livid at what they perceived were wrong line calls, the two made their feelings known clearly, with de Greef even screaming at one line official in the first set, “Open your eyes. Stop sleeping,” while Menendez-Maceiras could be seen arguing with the chair towards the end of the match.
Earlier in the day, the No. 2 seed James Ward was hardly troubled by Sanam as he ran out an easy 6-3, 6-2 winner. Not that Sanam didn’t try, but the chasm between the two was too great for the Indian to bridge.
Saturday will see at least one Indian on the winner’s podium when the Indo-American pair of John Paul Fruttero & N. Vijay Sundar Prashanth clashes with the all-Indian combination of Myneni and Sanam in the doubles final.
The results:
Singles: Quarterfinals: James Ward (G.Br) bt Sanam Singh 6-3, 6-3; Saketh Myneni bt Yannick Mertens (Bel) 6-3, 7-6(6); Adrian Menendez-Maceiras (Esp) bt Arthur de Greef 6-3, 6-4; Daniel Nguyen (USA) bt Alessandro Bega (Ita) 7-5, 6-4.
Doubles: Semifinals: John Paul Fruttero (USA) & N. Vijay Sundar Prashanth bt Ti Chen (Tpe) & Dane Propoggia (Aus) 6-3, 3-6, [10-8]; Myneni & Sanam bt Menendez-Maceiras & Gerard Granollers 6-4, 7-6(3).
