India's Prakash Amritraj crashed out of the singles contest, but combined well with South African Rik De Voest to reach the doubles final of the Dharwad ATP Challenger tennis tournament in Dharwad, Karnataka, on Saturday.
Amritraj lost to Yue-Tzuoo Wang of Taiwan in the first singles semifinal 3-6, 1-6, while top seed Danai Udomchoke of Thailand had to sweat it out for 110 minutes to overcome De Voest 3-6, 6-2, 7-5 in the other match. The final will be played tomorrow.
The first doubles semifinal was a one-sided affair with Amritraj and De Voest, winners of the Tumkur leg of the Challenger, cruising past Danai Udomchoke and Japan's Toshihide Matsui 6-3, 6-2. In the other semifinal, the Ratiwatana brothers from Thailand, Sanchai and Sonchat, beat Michal Mertinak and Branislav Secak of Slovakia 7-6 (7-4), 7-5.
Amritraj began well against Wang, but lost control over his game midway to surrender the fifth game, giving Wang the crucial break. Leading 3-2, Wang went on to win the set 6-3.
Amritraj, in a bid to stage a comeback, saved five set points. He even had two break points, but Wang finally wrapped up the set. Amritraj's strategy of rushing to the net and forcing the opponent to commit mistakes was paying off, but it was too late.
The second set saw Amritraj lose his temper and the third game provided Wang the break, with Amritraj surrendering it quite easily. The Indian faltered twice again and offered the set and the match on a platter.
The match between Udomchoke and De Voest was a treat as both players hit some powerful deep shots. The match saw De Voest break his oponent in the very second game of the first set to take it 6-3 in 29 minutes.
Fighting back in the second, Udomchoke broke De Voest in the fifth game and again in the eighth to win the set 6-2 and equalise at 1-1.
The decider was a cliffhanger. Udomchoke, breaking De Voest in the second game, gained the crucial lead. But the ninth game saw De Voest break Udomchoke and equal the set score at 5-5.
Udomchoke then held his serve in the eleventh game to lead 6-5 before breaking De Voest once again in the 12th game to clinch the issue.
RESULTS:
Singles semifinals: Yue-Tzuoo Wang beat Prakash Amritraj 6-3, 6-1; Danai Udomchoke (Thailand) beat Rik De Voest 3-6, 6-2, 7-5.
Doubles semifinals: Sonchai Ratiwatana/Sachai Ratiwatana beat Michal Mertinek/Branislav Sekac 7-6 (7-4), 7-5; Prakash Amritraj/Rik De Voest beat Toshihide Matsui/Danai Udomchoke 6-3, 6-2.