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ShareNew Delhi: Rohan Gajjar produced a spirited display to knock out top seed Kento Takeuchi and ensure that all semifinalists of the $15,000 ITF India Futures tennis tournament were part of the host country's Commonwealth Games preparation pool.
The 24-year-old Mumbai player rallied for a 4-6, 7-6 (7-3), 6-3 victory and set up a semifinal clash with former national champion Ashutosh Singh.
Gajjar, who played for four years on the US Collegiate circuit, packed a punch too many for his left-handed opponent, who had superb retrieving abilities but lacked the power to snatch points. Dropping serve in the fourth game of the first set, Gajjar clinched the hard-fought second set comfortably in the tie-break to turn the run of play.
Exhibiting some fine returns of serve, he broke in the first game of the decider and then in the ninth, even as 462nd ranked Takeuchi was left arguing over line calls in frustration.
"I was fairly confident of winning even when I was down after the first set. I was serving well and it was only a matter of getting in good returns," said Gajjar, who dropped just four games in the previous two rounds.
For Ashutosh, getting past seventh seed and present national champion VM Ranjeet meant three hours of hard work.
After trading the first two sets, Ashutosh slipped after gaining a comfortable 4-2 lead in the third set, surrendering the advantage of a break with two double-faults in the eighth game. The match went with serve from thereon before Ashutosh, who knocked out third seeded Korean Hyun-Woo Nam in the second round, produced some crisp serves to win the tie-breaker with ease.
In the bottom half of the draw, Yuki Bhambri won his third consecutive match without dropping a set, using some deft drops to unsettle Divij Sharan. Bhambri will now play Vishnu Vardhan, who too is yet to drop a set in the tournament. Vardhan beat Rupesh Roy in the quarter finals.
The results (quarterfinals):
Rohan Gajjar (6) bt Kento Takeuchi (1, Jpn) 4-6, 7-6 (7-3), 6-3; Ashutosh Singh bt VM Ranjeet (7) 4-6, 6-4, 7-6 (7-3); Yuki Bhambri (4) bt Divij Sharan (5) 6-3, 6-4; Vishnu Vardhan (2) bt Rupesh Roy (8) 6-2, 7-6 (9-7)
