Pune:
Saketh Myneni entered the singles semifinals and doubles final of the ATP Challenger at the Mhalunge Balewadi Tennis Complex here.
Saketh scored his second consecutive win in two weeks over top seeded Aleksandr Nedovyesov of Kazakhstan winning 6-3 6-4 in one hour and four minutes. He made his singles win sweeter by reaching the doubles final with compatriot Sanam Singh, registering a 6-2 5-7 10-7 win over the Japanese pair of Toshide Matsui and Yasutaka Yuchiyama.
India’s other hope, seventh seeded Yuki Bhambri, squandered a 4-1 lead in the second set to go down 3-6 4-6 against fourth seeded Yuichi Sugita of Japan. The Japanese had earlier ousted Yuki in the semifinals of Asian Games last month.
Eighth seeded Kimmer Coppejans who has a Challenger title to his credit this year scraped past a fighting Adam Pavlasek of Czech Republic 3-6 6-3 6-4 in two hours. Coppejans will clash with sixth seed Spaniard Adrian Menendez Macarias, who upset second seed Russian Alexander Kudryatsev 6-4 6-1 in less than an hour.
In the doubles final to be played tomorrow, the Indian pair of Saketh and Sanam will take on top seeds Sonchai and Sonchat Ratiwatana who scored a 6-4 6-4 win over Belgian Germain Gigounin and Frenchman Fabrice Martin.
Speaking after the match, Saketh said: “It’s great feeling to be in a second semifinal. I played aggressive tennis and it worked. The plan was to move up and attack. It’s been great two weeks for me”.
