Erste Bank Open: Rohan Bopanna and Pablo Cuevas enter the final

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Pablo Cuevas (left) and Rohan Bopanna: Eyes on the prize

Indian tennis ace Rohan Bopanna and Pablo Cuevas of Uruguay won a tight two-setter to enter the final of the Erste Bank Open in Vienna, Austria on Saturday. The unseeded combine needed just 1 hour 7 minutes to edge the Russian-French pair of Karen Khachanov and Lucas Pouille, 7-6(2), 6-4 in the semi-finals of this ATP 500 tournament.

They will take on fellow unseeded duo of Marcelo Demoliner and Sam Querrey in the title showdown. The latter stunned the second seeds Bob and Mike Bryan in the quarter-finals.

Bopanna and Cuevas powered eight aces past the French pair and won 84% of their first serve points. They were very sharp on break points and converted both the break points that they got in the second set.

That the match was very close is evidenced by the fact that Bopanna and Cuevas won a total of 35 points while Khachanov and Pouille won just one less.

Bopanna and Cuevas caused a big upset in the quarter-finals by showing the door to the top seeds and reigning Wimbledon champions, Lukasz Kubot and Marcelo Melo, 6-7(3), 6-4, 10-8.

This is the second final this year for the Indo-Uruguayan pair. They earlier triumphed at the Monte Carlo Masters on clay in April.

Bopanna is aiming for his third title of the year having begun the 2017 season by reigning supreme at the Chennai Open alongside Jeevan Nedunchezhiyan.

Indians seek Challenger titles

Indian tennis players have fared very well in the ATP Challenger circuit this week as well. Divij Sharan reached a final for the third week in a row as he made it through to the summit clash at the Brest Challenger in France in partnership with Scott Clayton of Great Britain.

Sharan and Clayton will meet fellow unseeded pair of Sander Arends and Antonio Sancic in their quest for the title.

The Indian southpaw put together a stellar few weeks. He and Yuki Bhambri had a runner-up finish at the Tashkent Challenger which Sharan followed up with a title-winning campaign at the European Open in Antwerp the very next week.

At the Ho Chi Minh City Challenger in Vietnam, Saketh Myneni and N Vijay Sundar Prashanth too have set their sights on the trophy. They will lock horns with Ben Mclachlan and Go Soeda of Japan in the final.

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