Sixth seed Bhambri, who had defeated top-seed Karan Rastogi in the quarters, humbled fourth seed Gero Kretschmer of Germany in straight sets in the semifinal.
Yuki Bhambri continued his good run by entering the singles’ final of the CCI-ITF $15,000 Men’s Futures tennis tournament here at the Cricket Club of India on Friday.
Sixth seed Bhambri, who had defeated top-seed Karan Rastogi in the quarters, humbled fourth seed Gero Kretschmer of Germany in straight sets in the semifinal. Yuki, who is ranked 491 on ATP, improvised against his German counterpart (ranked 419) after getting an average start.
The Indian won the first set 7-6 (7-5) and then overpowered his opponent 6-3 in the second to enter the summit clash. He will face former Davis Cupper and seventh seed Roko Karanusic in the final. Karanusic made his way to the final by upsetting second seed Adam Kellner (Hungary) 6-4 6-3 in the second semifinal.
Talking about the match, Bhambri said, “He played good shots and made me struggle in the beginning. I feel, after the bad start, I was forced to play on the back foot. But I gained control later and I was trying to place the ball within the lines. That worked.”
Talking about his match against Rastogi, he said beating the higher-ranked player boosted his confidence. “If you beat a player who has a better international ranking, it obviously charges you up. The good thing is that, earlier, I had been giving those players a good fight, but now I am also able to defeat them,” said the 18-year-old.
The Delhi-lad also gave credit to his Davis Cup experience. “Serbia experience was good for me. Though I was called on a short notice and I didn’t get to play much, I got a chance to watch some really good tennis. It was a learning experience for me,” he said.
When asked about the experience in tackling the aggressive crowd in Serbia, he said, it was part of the game.
“Tennis is big in Serbia because of players like Novak Djokovic and others winning big tournaments. The crowd is passionate about the sport and when they watch their players in action, it is a big moment for them. This is the difference you experience when you play away from home,” he said.
He was all praise for his senior Somdev Devvarman, who gave a good fight to world No 1 Rafael Nadal in the quarterfinals at Indian Wells.
“I couldn’t watch the match, but I was told that he gave Nadal a good fight. He is a good player and the best part about his game is that despite not having an extra advantage like height or speedy serve, he is doing so well, which is a motivation for all of us,” said Bhambri.
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