Unlike the disastrous Thursday, the fancied players took their appointed spot in the semifinals of the ITF Davangere Open Men’s World Tennis Tour being played at the Davanagere Tennis Association, thus promising some exciting action in the semifinals slated for Saturday.
In the quarterfinals played here on Friday, top seed Nick Chappell of the USA dropped a set before registering a 6-1, 3-6, 6-2 victory over fifth seed Sidharth Rawat to set up a last-four clash with eighth seed Niki Kaliyanda Poonacha. Niki was a 6-4, 6-3 winner over Manish Sureshkumar.
Second seed Bogdan Bobrov faced a stiff resistance in the first set from Karan Singh while blanking his opponent in the second set for a 7-5, 6-0 victory. The visitor will play the in-form Ramkumar Ramanathan in the other semifinal. The Davis Cupper brushed aside the challenge of Madhwin Kamath in straight sets 6-2, 6-1.
Meanwhile the doubles semifinal matches went against the form as the fourth seeded pair of Siddhant Banthia and Vishnu Vardhan rallied from a set down to upset the fancied pair of second seeded Bogdan Bobrov and Nick Chappell 4-6, 6-3, 10-5 to make it to the title round. In the finals, the Indian duo will meet the third seeded countrymates Sai Karteek Reddy Gant and Manish Sureshkumar, who stunned the favourites and top seeds Purav Raja and Ramkumar Ramanathan 7-6 (3), 6-4. Incidentally, Karteek and Manish were the doubles finalists in the last leg in Dharwad.
These quarterfinal matches showcased the incredible skill and determination of the players, leaving fans eagerly anticipating the upcoming rounds of the ITF Davangere Open Men’s World Tennis Tour.
Results
(Seeds in parenthesis, Country except India mentioned in brackets)
Singles Quarterfinals
1-Nick Chappell (USA) bt 5-Sidharth Rawat 6-1, 3-6, 6-2; 2-Bogdan Bobrov bt Karan Singh 7-5, 6-0; 8-Niki Kaliyanda Poonacha bt Manish Sureshkumar 6-4, 6-3; Ramkumar Ramanathan bt Q-Madhwin Kamath 6-2, 6-1.
Semifinal line-up: 1-Nick Chappell (USA) Vs. 8-Niki Kaliyanda Poonacha; 2-Bogdan Bobrov Vs. Ramkumar Ramanathan.
Doubles (Semifinals)
3-Sai Karteek Reddy Ganta/Manish Sureshkumar bt 1-Purav Raja/Ramkumar Ramanathan 7-6 (3), 6-4; 4-Siddhant Banthia/Vishnu Vardhan bt 2-Bogdan Bobrov/Nick Chappell (USA) 4-6, 6-3, 10-5.