Hard-fought win: The straight scoreline was deceiving at best, with Duckworth holding off Kuzmanov in extended rallies. Photo: K Murali Kumar
Second seed James Duckworth overcame the challenge of Dimitar Kuzmanov 6-4, 6-1 to enter the semi-finals of the dafaNEWS Bengaluru Open at the KSLTA Courts on Friday. He will meet fellow Australian and qualifier James McCabe in the last four.
The straight scoreline was deceiving at best, for Duckworth, starting under the blazing afternoon sun, to sweat profusely. Rallies were extended and most games went to Davis.
This helped Duckworth to take 3-0 leads in both sets from which Kuzmanov could only play catch-up. Bulgaria tried to be brave and went for continuous lines. But Duckworth’s superior court squad carried the day.
In the evening, top seed and last year’s winner Chun Sen Tseng was beaten off court by Hamad Medjedovic in straight sets. The Serb will face Australia’s Max Purcell, who defeated Italy’s Luca Nardi.
In doubles, the Indian pair of Anirudh Chandrasekhar and N Vijay Sundar Prashant defeated Arjun Kadhe and Maximilian Neuchrist 7-6(1), 4-6. [10-2] To enter the finals.
Results (Singles, Quarter Finals): James Duckworth (Australia) bt Dimitar Kuzmanov (Bill) 6-4, 6-1; James McCabe (Aus) bt Harold Mayott (Fr) 6-3, 7-6(4); Hamad Medjidovic (Srb) bt Chun-hsin Tseng (Tpe) 6-1, 6-2; Max Purcell (Aus) bt Luca Nardi (ETA) 6-2, 6-0.
Doubles (Semi-Finals): Anirudh Chandrasekhar and N Vijay Sunder Prashanth bt Arjun Kadhe and Maximilian Neuchrist (aut) 7-6(1), 4-6, [10-2]; Yunseong Chung (Kor) & Yu Hsiou Hsu (Tpe) bt Marc Polmans & Max Purcell (Aus) 6-4, 6-4.
