CHENNAI: Top seed and World No. 9 Janko Tipsarevic of Serbia broke the Indian hearts with a crushing 6-1, 6-3 win over Yuki Bhambri en route to the quarterfinals of the Aircel Chennai Open on Thursday.
Also advancing to the round of eight was 21-year old wild card from Belgium David Goffin who ousted Andreas Beck of Germany 4-6, 6-4, 6-2, to set up a clash with Tipsarevic.
In the bottom half of the draw, qualifier Yuichi Sugita from Japan romped to a 7-6 (5), 6-4, win over Taipei’s Yen-Hsun Lu while second seed from Spain Nicolas Almagro, ranked No. 10, received a walk-over as his opponent Steve Darcis pulled out citing a shoulder injury.
The quarterfinal line-up is: Tipsarevic vs Goffin; Stanislas Wawrinka vs Go Soeda; Dodi Sela vs Milos Raonic and Sugita vs Almagro.
Bhambri barely got a toe hold against Tipsarevic and it was a mismatch from the start as the Serbian carried just too much heavy ammunition that the 19-year old Indian, the lowest ranked player in the draw at 345, could not handle.
Bhambri’s best moments were in the second set when he was up a breakpoint in the second game, but hit a forehand wide and long to make it deuce. Tipsarevic then slammed a forehand down-the-line winner before Bhambri netted a forehand, trying to angle a shot to the Serbian’s backhand to concede the game.
That apart, the 27-year old Tipsarevic was rarely in any spot of bother and though playing well within himself, was still just too good for Bhambri and finished the one-sided contest in just 62 minutes.
The start was ominous for Bhambri as he was broken in the very first game, and twice more in the fifth and seven as Tipsarevic took the first set in just 23 minutes.
Thereafter, Tipsarevic took his foot off the pedal, and a break of serve in the fourth proved sufficient for him to pocket the set for the match.
Almagro was obviously not too pleased that he did not get to play a match as scheduled, especially since he had put in nearly a month’s practice prior to his arrival in Chennai.
“In a way, I am happy to be in the quarterfinals of the first tournament of the year without playing, but that is not the way I would like to progress. Not having played a match before the quarterfinals could be a handicap for me,” said Almagro.
Looking ahead to the season, Almagro said: “I have a lot of points to defend and one of my goals this season is to again finish in top-10. Also, I would like to improve my game on hard-court. I have won 10 titles (in my career), but all on clay. “It is one of the reasons I came to Chennai and I hope to do well here. My problem with hard court is more mental and this is where I need to improve.”
Singles (Pre-quarterfinals): 2-Nicolas Almagro (ESP) w/o Steve Darcis (BEL); WC-David Goffin (BEL) bt Andreas Beck (GER) 4-6, 6-4, 6-2; Q-Yuichi Sugita (JPN) bt Yen-Hsun Lu (TPE) 7-6 (5), 6-4; 1-JankoTipsarevic (SRB) bt Yuki Bhambri (IND) 6-1, 6-3. (IANS)