What’s the story?
India’s Yuki Bhambri produced a stunning upset in Uzbekistan as he defeated the top seed and world number 96 Sergiy Stakhovsky to book a place in the semi-finals of the Karshi ATP Challenger.
Speaking to PTI after the game, Bhambri said, “Everything came together today. I wanted to focus on my service games and take a few chances on his serve because he serves well. Thankfully those paid off. I am happy for the fact that I did not take my foot off the gas as it is important to keep pressing especially against good players.”
In case you didn’t know...
Stakhovsky first shot into the spotlight when he ousted Roger Federer in a tiring second round match at Wimbledon in 2013. He also has four ATP World Tour singles title to his name but hasn’ t won a trophy since New Haven in 2013.
India had five participants in the tournament. While Ramkumar Ramanathan, Vishnu Vardhan and Prajnesh Gunneswaran had all been knocked out in the first round, N Sriram Balaji perished in the second round 3-6, 4-6 to Egor Gerasimov from Belarus.
The heart of the matter
The Indian was on song on Thursday as he scored his first victory over a top-100 ranked player this season, finishing off the Ukranian in straight sets (6-4, 6-2) in just an hour and 10 minutes.
The unseeded Bhambri has been in good form and had dispatched the seventh-seeded Aldin Setkic from Bosnia and Herzegovina is straight sets (7-5, 7-5) in the quarterfinals of $75,000 event to set up the semi-final clash with Stakhovsky.
In a dominant performance, the Indian broke his opponent three times and gave the Ukrainian only one break point opportunity – which he duly saved as well.
What’s next?
Bhambri will next meet Belarus’ Egor Gerasimov (ranked 223) who knocked out fellow countryman Yaraslav Shyla in their quarter-finals clash. The injury-prone Indian who has five ATP Challenger Tour titles to his name will be looking for his first triumph since winning the 2015 KPIT MSLTA Challenger in Pune.
Author’s take
It will be the third semifinal of the season for Bhambri on the ATP Challenger Tour this season. He had earlier reached the last-four stage of the Zhuhai and Shenzen events in March.
Bhambri, who is currently ranked 273 in the world is certainly on form and has shown us in the past that he is way better than what his current ranking suggests. And one would not put it beyond him to end his two-year trophy drought.
