E-Paper
Chennai Open: Rohan enters pre-quarterfinal
Luck continued to smile on Indian challenge in Chennai Open 2006 as qualifier, Davis cupper Rohan Bopanna, made it to the pre-quarterfinal with a splendid 6-3, 6-3 upset win over No 80 ranked Cyril Saulnier of France in the first round in Chennai on Tuesday.
Luck continued to smile on Indian challenge in Chennai Open 2006 as qualifier, Davis cupper Rohan Bopanna, made it to the pre-quarterfinal with a splendid 6-3, 6-3 upset win over No 80 ranked Cyril Saulnier of France in the first round in Chennai on Tuesday.
Bopanna, who made it to the final round of the qualifying competition ousting a top seeded Thai, was in his elements finding his rhythm and unleashing powerful passing shots to wrap up the contest in just 55 minutes on court number one.
At 3-3 in the first set he held serve for a 4-3 lead and broke Saulnier in the eighth for a 5-3 lead wrapping it up in the next game.
The pattern was the same in the second, only Saulnier lost his nerve and caved in on the big points. Bopanna started off in style breaking Saulnier in the very first game and running up a 3-1 lead. Up 5-3, the Karnataka lad wrapped up the one-sided contest breaking Saulnier in the ninth game.
"This is the best match I have played after the Davis cup singles tie against Holland's Martin Verkerc in 2003 although I had lost that five set match," Bopanna said.
His victory means that two Indians would be in the second round, wild card Prakash Amritraj having staged a superb come back yesterday in his first round match after losing the first set.
This is Bopanna's second appearance in the singles main draw in ATP tour event in Chennai. In 2003, playing in the main draw as a wild card, he had bowed out in the first round.
In two other first round matches today, a finalist here once, German Rainer Schuettler made it to the pre-quarters defeating Spaniard Fernando Vicente 6-4, 6-3 in straight sets, while Luxeburg's Gilles Muller defeated Romania's Razvan Sabau 6-2, 7-6(5), the second set going on tie break with Razvan and testing his nerves a bit.
