Bhambri's stellar Citi Open campaign ends with defeat

Yuki Bhambri fought valiantly before a three-set defeat against 15th seed Kevin Anderson brought an end to his impressive campaign at the ATP Citi Open. The Indian qualifier, who savoured his best-ever performance on the ATP World Tour, went down fighting 4-6 6-4 3-6 against the world number 45 from South Africa in the quarterfinals on Friday.

Bhambri had reached quarterfinals of Chennai Open as well but that was an ATP 250 event where he won two main draw matches while he won three in the ATP 500 tournament here. "I had a good tournament but disappointed with the result today. I felt I had a shot after winning the second set but got broken early in the third set and it's much harder to come back against a big server," Bhambri said.

"I have fought well all week and felt comfortable playing against the big guys which is a good step moving forward. Looking forward to the rest of the season and hope to stay healthy," he added. En route to the quarterfinals, Bhambri scalped world number 22 and defending champion Gael Monfils and world number 100 Guido Pella.

Kevin will now meet US eighth seed Jack Sock - a 7-5, 6-4 winner over Canadian third seed Milos Raonic. Top-10 rivals Kei Nishikori and Alexander Zverev advanced to a semi-final showdown. Nishikori beat 225th-ranked American 20-year-old Tommy Paul 3-6, 7-6 (10/8), 6-4 after two hours and 40 minutes. Zverev, a 20-year-old German seeking his fourth ATP title of the year and ranked a career-high eighth, took only 57 minutes to eliminate Russia's Daniil Medvedev 6-2, 6-4. - PTI/AFP

The 25-year-old earned 90 points, which should help him touch 150 in the world rankings. He also pocketed $ 44595 as prize money for his brilliant effort.

India's challenge ended at the $2,002,460 hard court event when Rohan Bopanna and his American partner also lost their quarterfinal. The unseeded Indo-American combo lost 5-7 4-6 to fourth seeded American legends Mike and Bob Bryan.

Source: Khaleej Times