Surbiton Challenger 2018: Yuki Bhambri works hard to enter quarter-finals

Back on the grasscourts, the India No. 1 Yuki Bhambri keeps flourishing as he entered the quarter-finals of the Fuzion 100 Surbiton Challenger in London on Wednesday. The job was not easy but the third seed maintained his composure to oust the 179th ranked Alex Bolt 6-4, 3-6, 6-1 in 1 hour 36 minutes.

The serving statistics weren’t of the highest order for the World No. 93, though. He produced two aces but had as many as seven double faults. Only 63% of his first serves went in.

It was his break point conversion rate that stood out and helped him get success. Yuki utilized five of his seven chances, while dropping his serve thrice.

Next up for the former junior Australian Open champion is the sixth seeded Alex de Minaur, ranked 105th.

The 25-year-old Indian, who is assured of a Wimbledon main draw berth, has come to this tournament after a first round exit at the French Open. In men’s doubles, he won a round with Divij Sharan before their campaign was halted by the reigning Australian Open champions Oliver Marach and Mate Pavic.

Apart from Bhambri, none of the other Indians managed a win on Wednesday. Three Indians suffered losses in the quarter-final stage in the doubles draw.

The top seeded doubles pair of Sharan and Aisam-Ul-Haq Qureshi were upset 3-6, 3-6 by Lleyton Hewitt and Alex Bolt. N Sriram Balaji and Vishnu Vardhan were ousted 4-6, 6-7(4) by the fourth seeds Ken Skupski and Neal Skupski.

Ramkumar Ramanathan and Jurgen Melzer squandered a one-set lead to go down 6-4, 6-7(3), 2-10 to the second seeds Nicholas Monroe and John-Patrick Smith in 1 hour 22 minutes.

Ramanathan is still alive in the singles draw. After getting the better of second seed Jordan Thompson in the first round, the World No. 121 will face the Ukrainian veteran Sergiy Stakhovsky for a place in the last-eight.