Jeevan lone Indian surviving in Uzbekistan ATP Challenger

Karshi: India`s Jeevan Nedunchezhiyan reached the semifinals of an ATP Challenger event for the first time in his career with a quick straight sets victory over Mikhail Ledovskkih even as Saketh Myneni bowed of the USD 50,000 event, here on Thursday.

Unseeded Jeevan, ranked 359, scored a 6-3 6-2 win over the Russian, who was perhaps tired following a qualifying campaign and then playing a long and energy-sapping match on Wednesday. After breaking Ledovskkih early in the first set, the left-handed player from Tamil Nadu had no problem in clinching the match in just 49 minutes. "I am serving well. It has been a good week so far," Jeevan, who next faces Chase Buchanan, said. Among other Indians, Davis Cupper Myneni lost both his singles and doubles matches while Divij Sharan`s campaign also ended in the doubles with partner Liang-Chi Huang. Myneni lost his singles quarterfinals 1-6 2-6 to Nikoloz Basilashvili and then with third seed partner James Cluskey he lost doubles semifinal to Sergey Betov and Alexander Bury. Sharan and Huang, seeded fourth, lost 3-6 3-6 to Mao-Sin Gong and Hsien-Yi Peng in their semifinal.