Chennai, Feb 8: Defending champions Ramkumar Ramanathan and Saketh Myneni of India had to be content with runners-up finish at the Chennai Open ATP Challenger doubles event after going down to Japan’s Shintaro Mochizuki and Kaito Uesugi in in the title clash on Saturday.
The unseeded Japanese duo of Mochizuki and Uesugi broke the serve of Ramanathan and Myneni once in each set to emerger 6-4 6-4 winners in an one hour and seven minutes contest.
This was the second ATP Challenger doubles title for Uesugi and Mochizuki, who won the Wimbledon boys singles crown in 2019.
In the singles draw, unseeded Swede Elias Ymer stunned top seed Billy Harris of Great Britain in two hard-fought tiebreaks in their first clash on the pro circuit.
In a match that featured no breaks of serve and lasted for over two-and-a-half hours, the 28-year-old Ymer served 10 aces and saved all seven break points against his serve to win 7-6 7-6 and advance to Sunday’s final.
His opponent will be Frenchman Kyrian Jacquet, who ousted Czech Dalibor Svrcina 6-4 6-1 in the first semifinal.
Ymer will be gunning for his seventh ATP Challenger singles title, his first since winning in Pune in November 2018, while 23-year-old Jacquet will be hoping to win his second title on the ATP Challenger Tour.
Sunday’s final showdown will be the first clash between Ymer and Jacquet on the pro tour. (PTI)
