Wietoska shocks top seed Balaji

BANGALORE: German qualifier Torsten Wietoska scalped top seed N Sriram Balaji to continue his impressive run and enter his second successive semifinal in the $10,000 ITF Dharwad Open at the Dharwad District Tennis Association courts on Thursday. Wietoska, the world No. 1502, stunned Tamil Nadu lad Balaji 6-4, 5-7, 7-5 in the Men's Futures event. The German, who last week lost to Sanam Singh in the Davangere Open semifinals, went a step further here to set up a clash with another Tamil Nadu player, Ramkumar Ramanathan.The contest between Balaji and Wietsoka saw some hitting by both players, as they traded powerful serves and returned relentlessly in the first set. Wietoska broke Balaji in the seventh game and made sure he kept his serve intact to close out the set at 6-4. The second set saw both players toil hard to hold their service games before Balaji finally broke in the 12th game. He then stepped it up a notch to win the second to stay alive in the tie.In the decider, Wietoska capitalized on two uncharacteristic mishits by Balaji with the score at 5-5. The German broke his opponent's serve for a crucial lead and stayed on course for a famous victory in two hours and 20 minutes. "It was a tough match and I hope to go all the way to the title round. I have been playing better with every match and it's been good going so far," said Wietoska, who returned to action after a long injury layoff. Meanwhile, Sanam advanced to the semifinal defeating dangerous Dutchman Colin Van Beem 6-4, 6-4 while third seed Ranit Virali Murugesan defeated Prashanth N 6-3, 6-2. Ramkumar later halted Arjun Khade's progress 6-4, 6-7 (3), 6-1.
Results: Singles (quarterfinals; prefix denotes seeding; Indians unless specified): Torsten Wietoska (Ger) bt 1-N Sriram Balaji 6-4, 5-7, 7-5; 2-Sanam Singh bt Colin van Beem (Ned) 6-4, 6-4; 3-Ranjeet Virali Murugesan bt 5-Prashanth N 6-3, 6-2; Ramkumar Ramanathan bt Arjun Khade 6-4, 6-7 (3), 6-1. Doubles: Amrit Narasimhan (USA)/ Michael Shabaz (USA) bt Fariz Mohammed/ Vignesh Peranamallur 6-3, 6-2; Ajai Selvaraj/ Ashwin Vijayraghavan bt 2-Sergei Krotiouk (Rus)/ Luca Margaroli (Sui).