India's Yuki Bhambri will take on No. 1 seed Jordan Thompson of Australia in the final of the Chennai Open ATP Challenger.
In Chennai, on Friday, the second seeded Indian got the better of Korea's Duckhee Lee, the third seed, 7-5, 6-2 in 85 minutes, while Thompson beat unseeded Spaniard Pedro Martinez 6-1, 7-6.
The first set was an even contest between the Indian number one, ranked 112 in the world, and the speedy Korean. Bhambri played well within himself from the baseline and made the occasional foray to the net to finish off points.
A solitary break did the trick for Bhambri, a former Australian Open junior champion, in the first set.
The second set was one-way traffic as the Indian stepped up his game and hit winners from both flanks. Two service breaks highlighted Lee's struggles in the set as the Bhambri raced away to victory.
The Indian did not face a single break point through the course of the match.
Following the victory, Bhambri improved his head-to-head record against Lee to 2-0 and enhanced his chances of returning to the top 100.
In the other semi-final, Thompson started the match with two aces in the first game and dominated the set, taking it in quick time.
The Spanish player, who upset fourth-seeded Egyptian Mohammed Safwat in the quarter-finals, fought back in the second and held his own against the Aussie.
In the tie-breaker, Thompson raced to a 3-0 lead and looked set to close it out quickly before Martinez hit back with three points.
The No.1 seed kept his composure to take the tie-breaker to progress to Saturday’s final.
Results:
Singles (semi-finals): Jordan Thompson (Australia-1) beat Pedro Martinez (Spain) 6-1, 7-6; Yuki Bhambri (India-2) beat Duckhee Lee (Korea) 7-5, 6-2.
