Citi Open | Yuki Bhambri’s memorable run ends with defeat against Kevin Anderson

SportsCafe Desk
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Yuki Bhambri’s stellar campaign at the Citibank Open in Washington came to a close with a three-set defeat against 15th seed Kevin Anderson. The Indian qualifier, who enjoyed his best ever performance at an ATP World Tour event, went down fighting 4-6, 6-4, 3-6 to the South African star.

After beating sixth-seeded French star Gael Monfils and Argentine Guido Pella on his way to the quarter-finals - his career-best run at an ATP 500 event - Bhambri would have looked to continue the good momentum but he got broken twice in the first set as he went a set down 35 minutes into the match. 

However, he made a good comeback in the second set, breaking the World no. 45's serve in the first game itself. Even though the Indian scored just one ace against his opponent's eight aces in the set, he had a clear edge on the first serve, winning 16 out of 17 points as compared to Anderson's 12. 

In the third set, Anderson broke Bhambri again to take a 3-0 lead early on. The latter’s continuous attempts to script a comeback fell short as Anderson capitalised on his lead to win the decider in 42 minutes.

“I had a good tournament but disappointed with the result today. I felt I had a shot after winning the second set but got broken early in the third set and it’s much harder to come back against a big server,” Bhambri was quoted as saying by PTI.

“I have fought well all week and felt comfortable playing against the big guys which is a good step moving forward. Looking forward to the rest of the season and hope to stay healthy,” he added.

Meanwhile, in the women's doubles event, top-seeded Sania Mirza and Romanian partner Monica Niculescu lost to USA's Eugenie Bouchard and Canada's Sloane Stephens 6-1, 5-7, 8-10 in the semi-final. Rohan Bopanna and his American partner Donald Young, too, lost to fourth seeds Bob Bryan and Mike Bryan 5-7, 4-6 in the men's doubles quarter-final, ending India's campaign at the tournament.

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