Bhambri scores a 'first' over Rastogi

MUMBAI: What makes a first win truly special is the way it's achieved. For sixth seed Yuki Bhambri, a 6-2, 6-2 win over top seed Karan Rastogi on Thursday at the CCI-ITF US$15,000 Men's Futures tennis tournament, was all about the manner in which it came.
Having lost to his senior counterpart on the last two occasions, Bhambri had the odds against him considering Rastogi was in fine knick until the quarters.But from the word go, the 18-year-old was focused on being consistent and a first-game break was a good indicator of his intentions. The strokes flowed off Bhambri's racket crisper and cleaner as the points progressed and the timely use of backhand slices only put Rastogi off tempo during their walloping, baseline rallies.
Armed with a towering serve, the only time it failed him was in the fourth game when Rastogi broke back. From there on though, Bhambri worked his opponent from side to side in search of the winner and never really allowed Rastogi to find his rhythm, breaking him another couple of times. By the time he sealed the first serve with an ace, Bhambri was really enjoying his game.
Three unforced errors on serve from Rastogi at the start of the second set the tone for an upset. His only chance to fight back was at 0-40 in the fourth game when he trailed 1-3. Three winners followed by two aces was what Bhambri had in store to reclaim his space and soon, a spot in the semifinal against fourth seed Gero Kretschmer.
Results (QFs): 7-Roko Karanustic (Cro) bt 3-Vishnu Vardhan (Ind) 6-4, 6-2; 6-Yuki Bhambri (Ind) bt 1-Karan Rastogi (Ind) 6-2, 6-2; 2-Adam Kellner (Hun) bt Kittiphong Wachiramanowong (Tha) 6-4, 6-2; 4-Gero Kretschmer (Ger) bt Rohan Gajjar (Ind) 3-6, 7-6 (4), 6-3.