Chennai Open: Yuki Bhambri exits, Indian challenge ends in singles

Chennai: There were no dearth of chances to stage a comeback but Yuki Bhambri struggled to contain his unforced errors and was knocked out of the Chennai Open with a straight set defeat against world number 47 Benoit Paire, here on Thursday.

Yuki, who entered the main draw via qualifying, squandered all seven breakpoints he got in the match to concede a 3-6 4?6 defeat in the second round.

Yuki played well in patches and had Paire, who was ranked as high as 18 last year, under the water but could not finish off points. It allowed Paire, who does also boxing, breathing space and chance to re-strategise.

A penetrating serve proved to be the saving weapon for Paire since the Frenchman used it effectively whenever he faced breakpoints.

With Yuki's defeat, India's challenge has ended in the singles with Ramkumar Ramanathan and Saketh Myneni exiting in first round.

Yuki said his Futures title-win in Hong Kong and three wins here set up him nicely for the Australian Open qualifiers.

Despite the defeat, the 24-year old was positive as he made a decent comeback from an elbow injury, which cost him six months in 2016.

"If I would have taken those chances, the outcome could have been different. But it still was a good match for me. He is ranked 47 but is much better than that and it was good to make him sweat," Yuki said.

He said he was not at his best as yet but is "getting there".

Paire said he lost concentration mid-way and that's why he faced so many breakpoints.

"I was not focused as I would have liked to. But I served well on those breakpoints. Yuki is a good player, solid from the baseline. He moves well. Good serve but not the best on the Tour. It was a good tournament for him but he can do better," Paire said, assessing the match and Yuki's game.

Asked how boxing helps him in his tennis, Paire said, "In boxing if you are not focused you can take shots (hits) on face, same in tennis, where you move a lot, if you lose focus the other guys wins."

In other matches, second seed and world number 14 Roberto Bautista Agut had no problem in dispatching Brazil's Rogerio Dutra Silva 6-3 6-2 to move to the quarterfinals.

Agut saved both the breakpoints he faced in the match and broke his rival thrice.

Also sailing into the last-eight round was Mihail Youzhny, who defeated Renzo Olivo 6-1 7-5.

Yuki could have put Paire under pressure when the Frenchman was 15-30 down in the opening game but was hesitant to finish off the point early.

The Indian lacked control over his strokes as a number of unforced errors had him down by two breaking points. A wide backhand on first by Yuki gave the Frenchman early break.

Paire served the next at love to race to a 3-0 lead. Yuki got on board in the fourth and did not lose a single point in that game.

Yuki started to get into rhythm and an interesting duel began in the fifth game as he put his rival under relentless pressure. He created two break chances but Paire managed to wriggle out and served out the game with an ace for a commanding 4-1 lead.

The Delhi lad was fighting hard but he struggled to contain his unforced errors and had to save breakpoints in the sixth game for his second hold.

While Yuki was fighting it off to keep the Indian challenge alive in the tournament, a few fans rooted for Paire with shouts of 'Let's go Paire, Let's go Paire'. Perhaps since Yuki had beaten local hero Ramkumar on Tuesday, they decided to support Paire.

Yuki had a chance to make a comeback as he had a breakpoint when Paire served for the set but the Indian hit his forehand wide. The plan was right but execution was not proper.

Some unusual unforced errors from Paire meant that he squandered three set points, serving double faults in two of them, but he finally took the set with an ace.

It was a decent start for Yuki in the second set as he served at love. Then he had three chances to break Paire in the second but converted none. The credit goes to the Frenchman for serving well in crisis moments.

Paire was now feeling the heat with Yuki coming up with some penetrating strokes. Yuki was down a breakpoint in the third but saved. Frustrated to let go the chance, Paire threw his racquet when Yuki served out the game.

The Indian did not help his cause by conceding a break in the fifth as Paire opened up a 4-2 lead by hold his serve in the sixth game.

Yuki had a chance to break in that game but did not cash in on. He saved two match points in the ninth game but Paire served out the match in the next.