Anderson Passes Djere Test In Pune

Kevin Anderson returned to the Tata Open Maharashtra quarter-finals on Wednesday, overcoming the challenge of Laslo Djere 7-6(3), 7-6(6).

The top seed, who reached the championship match on his Pune debut last year (l. to Simon), saved one set point at 5-6 (30/40) in the second set before closing out the match on his second match point. Anderson fired 20 aces en route to victory after two hours and eight minutes.

Anderson will face Jaume Munar in the quarter-finals. The seventh seed raced into the last eight after a tough opening set, beating Simone Bolelli 7-5, 6-0.

Ernests Gulbis booked his place in the quarter-finals after beating second seed Hyeon Chung 7-6(2), 6-2 in one hour and 38 minutes. The 2018 Intrum Stockholm Open runner-up landed eight aces and converted five of eight break points to overcome Chung, who was contesting his first match of the 2019 ATP Tour season.

Gulbis will meet Ivo Karlovic for a spot in the semi-finals. The 39-year-old Croatian won 86 per cent of service points to overpower Evgeny Donskoy 6-4, 7-5.

Fifth seed Benoit Paire moved one win away from his fourth straight Tata Open Maharashtra semi-final with a 6-4, 6-2 win over Jiri Vesely. The 29-year-old Frenchman dropped just two points behind his first serve (20/22) throughout the 71-minute contest. Paire will meet defending champion Gilles Simon in the quarter-finals.

Simon, who lifted the trophy on his tournament debut last year, recovered from a set down to beat Ilya Ivashka of Belarus 6-7(3), 6-2, 6-1. The Frenchman saved all six break points he faced to improve to 6-0 in Pune.

Malek Jaziri defeated Indian wild card Ramkumar Ramanathan 6-7(6), 7-6(5), 6-3 to reach the quarter-finals. The fourth seed recovered from a set down and a 0/3 deficit in the second-set tie-break to advance after two hours and 46 minutes. Jaziri will meet Steve Darcis in the last eight. Darcis also came from behind, beating Michael Mmoh 4-6, 7-6(4), 6-2.

Bambridge/O’Mara Reach Semi-finals
Luke Bambridge and Jonny O’Mara captured a tight opening set before racing to a 7-6(5), 6-1 win over N. Sriram Balaji and Arjun Kadhe. The British duo needed just 68 minutes to reach the semi-finals, winning 67 per cent of service points (43/64) en route to victory.

Bambridge and O’Mara, who captured titles in Eastbourne and Stockholm in 2018, will meet Gerard Granollers and Marcel Granollers for a place in the championship match. The Spanish pairing beat Denys Molchanov and Igor Zelenay 6-4, 6-7(3), 10-6 in 87 minutes.