Ugo Blanchet outlasted Kyrian Jacquet in the pre-quarterfinals of the Challenger tennis tournament in Pune on Thursday.
| Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
Ugo Blanchet of France overcame a slow start to beat the champion of the last two tournaments, compatriot Kyrian Jacquet 2-6, 6-3, 6-1 in the pre-quarterfinals of the Pune Metropolitan $160,000 Maha Open Challenger tennis tournament at the Balewadi Stadium on Thursday.
It was the third victory in six meetings for Blanchet over Jaquet, who had won the last two Challengers in Chennai and Delhi, dropping one set in ten matches over a fortnight.
The 26-year-old Blanchet, who has also won a Challenger this season in Koblenz, Germany, will next play Khumoyun Sultanov of Uzbekistan. The Uzbek knocked out third seed Tristan Schoolkate of Australia in three sets.
In doubles, top seeds Jeevan Nedunchezhiyan and Vijay Sundar Prashanth eked out a thrilling 12-10 victory in the super tie-break against Saketh Myneni and Ramkumar Ramanathan in the quarterfinals.
They will be challenged by Niki Poonacha and Courtney Lock in the semifinals.
Niki and his Zimbabwean partner had made the final last week in Delhi, and had to be quite sharp in winning 10-8 in the super tie-break against fourth seeds Blake Ellis and Schoolkate.
The results:
Singles (pre-quarterfinals): Billy Harris (GBR) bt Hiroki Moriya (Jpn) 7-5, 6-3; Brandon Holt (USA) bt Sascha Wayenburg (Fra) 6-4, 6-4; Ugo Blanchet (Fra) bt Kyrian Jacquet (Fra) 2-6, 6-3, 6-1; Khumoyun Sultanov (Uzb) bt Bernard Tomic (Aus) 4-6, 6-3, 6-3.
Doubles (quarterfinals): Jeevan Nedunchezhiyan & Vijay Sundar Prashanth bt Saketh Myneni & Ramkumar Ramanathan 6-3, 2-6, [12-10; Niki Poonacha & Courtney Lock (Zim) bt Blake Ellis & Tristan Schoolkate (Aus) 7-6(4), 6-7(4), [10-8]; Jay Clarke (GBR) & Jurij Rodionov (Aut) bt Petr Biryukov & Ilia Simakin 7-6(5), 6-3; Blake Bayldon & Matthew Romios (Aus) bt Enrico Dalla Valle (Ita) & Khumoyun Sultanov (Uzb) 6-3, 4-6, [12-10].
Published – February 20, 2025 08:34 pm IST
