Somdev wins, Yuki crashes out

A handsome crowd had turned out to watch local boy Yuki Bhambri in action against unseeded Frenchmen Lucas Pouille. As the sixth-seeded Indian raced away with the first set, more and more queued in to fill the stands. The ma­tch, though, spilled into the decider, where Yuki, despite holding a match point, slum­ped to 6-2, 5-7, 5-7 loss to ca­use a discomforting silence.

This opening round match of ONGC-GAIL Delhi Open men’s singles was of engaging rallies and surprising comeback. And even if the partisan crowd left a tad disappointed, they were enthralled by the intense show put up by both the players.

His loss has left Somdev Devvarman the only surviving Indian in the men’s singles. The second-seeded Indian scored a scrappy 6-2, 7-5 victory over wildcard and compatriot Karunuday Singh. In the other first round men singles matches, the Indians put up a good fight but fell short.  

The 293-ranked Saketh Myneni troubled Italian Thomas Fabbiano, ranked 181, to force tie-breakers in both the sets but failed to cash in on the opportunities. He lost 7-6 (7-4), 7-6 (7-4).

Wildcard Ramanathan Ramkumar caused a stir by putting up spirited challenge against Serbian IIija Bozoljac, the winner of the Kolkata Challenger. In an impressive fightback, he rallied to make it a set all before going down fighting 2-6, 7-6 (7-5), 4-6.
  Yuki started with his trademark flamboyance against 187-ranked Lucas, who was given a wild card in the French Open last year. But minutes after winning the opening set, Yuki's game slipped and Lucas seized the opportunity to make a stunning comeback. His cracking winners and booming serve left the 145th-ranked Indian astounded and soon it was a set all.

But Yuki restored the order in the decider by breaking the Frenchman in the third game and then held a match point at 5-3 on Lucas’s serve. That was not to be though. The Indian had the opportunity to serve out the match, only to be broken when he shanked a forehand.