Taipei, Apr 14:
India’s top singles players Yuki Bhambri and Ramkumar Ramanathan set up the title clash of the Taipei Challenger against each other while Saketh Myneni and Prajnesh Gunneswaran also made the doubles summit clash of the USD 150,000 tournament, here today.
The Indians had to work hard to down their Japanese opponents as Ramkumar fought past seventh seed Go Soeda 7-6(9) 6-4 and Yuki came from behind to beat Tatsuma Ito 3-6 6-3 6-4 in the other semifinal.
The last time Yuki and Ramkumar clashed was in the final of the Pune Challenger where the Delhi lad emerged winner in straight sets. Overall, in four meetings, Yuki leads the head-to-head record 3-1.
With this performance, Yuki is all set to reclaim his place in the top-100 while Ramkumar is expected to better his career-best rank.
Meanwhile, Saketh, who is playing only his second tournament of the 2018 season due to ankle and shoulder issues, combined with Prajnesh Gunneswaran to defeat local wild card team Yu Hsiou Hsu and Jimmy Wang 2-6 6-4 14-12 in a close semi-final.
Myneni and Prajnesh, who played a key role in India’s Davis Cup win in China by winning the decisive fifth rubber, had entered the tournament at the last minute.
“We are happy to be playing in the final after a last minute entry as Alternates. I am trying to enjoy my game with Prajnesh and get back to playing,” Myneni said after his win. (PTI)
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