Vishnu Vardhan reaches doubles semis with N Sriram Balaji in Jinan Challenger

The Jinan Challenger can become the second consecutive title for Vishnu Vardhan and N Sriram Balaji after they won the Chengdu Challenger last week.

Vishnu Vardhan was ousted from the singles event following a straight-set defeat in the second round but progressed to the doubles semifinals with compatriot N Sriram Balaji at the ATP Challenger event in Jinan, China.

Vishnu Vardhan advanced the final of the Jinan Challenger in China. (Hindustan Times)

Vardhan was the only Indian surviving in the singles but with his 4-6 4-6 defeat against the sixth seed Ricardas Berankis from Lithuania, it ended the country’s challenge.

Saketh Myneni, Sidharth Rawat, Balaji, Sasi Kumar Mukund and N Vijay Sundar had all bit dust in the first round itself.

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Vardhan and Balaji though had success in the doubles as they made it to the last four with a fighting 7-6(4) 6-3 win over local pair of Di Wu and Zhzhen Zhang in the quarterfinals.

Last week, Vardhan and Balaji had won the doubles title at the USD 125,000 Chengdu Challenger, defeating the Taipei pair of Cheng-Peng Hsieh and Hsle-Yin Peng.