Niki Poonacha kept the Indian hopes alive as he made the doubles final in partnership with Courtney Lock of Zimbabwe, beating third seeds Jay Clarke and Johannes Ingildsen 6-2, 7-6(1) in the Delhi Open ATP Challenger tournament at the DLTA Complex on Friday.
It was a welcome situation for the Indian camp after the second-round exit of the local players in singles. A whole bunch of Indian players had also failed to progress in doubles.
Niki, with his big serve, smart strokes and superb volleying skills, has been combining superbly with the energetic Lock in every round and the semifinals were no exception.
The doubles final will be against the Japanese duo of Masamichi Imamura and Rio Noguchi, who knocked out the Czech pair of Hynek Barton and Vit Kopriva 12-10 in the super tie-break.
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Kopriva, as the top seed in singles, cruised past sixth seed Shintaro Mochizuki, for the loss of six games earlier in the day. He will meet Kyrian Jacquet of France in the semifinals.
Third seed Tristan Schoolkate of Australia enacted another houdini act, as he fought past qualifier Andre Ilagan 6-7(2), 7-6(1), 6-2. He had earlier beaten the formidable Valentin Vacherot in a thriller.
The Aussie will be up against second seed Billy Harris who squeezed his way past Elias Ymer in the third set tie-break.
RESULTS
Singles (quarterfinals): Vit Kopriva (Cze) bt Shintaro Mochizuki (Jpn) 6-2, 6-4; Kyrian Jacquet (Fra) bt Michael Geerts (Bel) 6-3, 7-6(3); Tristan Schoolkate (Aus) bt Andre Ilagan (USA) 6-7(2), 7-6(1), 6-2; Billy Harris (GBR) bt Elias Ymer (Swe) 6-2, 4-6, 7-6(1).
Doubles (semifinals): Masamichi Imamura & Rio Noguchi (Jpn) bt Hynek Barton & Vit Kopriva (Cze) 1-6, 6-4, [12-10]; Niki Poonacha & Courtney Lock (Zim) bt Jay Clarke (GBR) & Johannes Ingildsen (Den) 6-2, 7-6(1).
Content Source: sportstar.thehindu.com