Yuki Bhambri reaches final of Shanghai Challenger

Yuki Bhambri is in line to win his second Challenger level singles title of the season as he advanced to the summit clash after his opponent withdrew due to a lower back problem on Saturday. Fourth seed Yuki was leading 6-3 3-0 in the semifinal when Russian qualifier Daniil Medvedev decided to withdraw from the contest.

It will be the fourth final of the season for Yuki, who won the Karshi Challenger and ended runner-up in Delhi and Samarkand. “I had to play defensive. He is a big guy and pretty hard. So the plan was to stay with him and wait for him to make errors,” Yuki said after his match.

He is now up against local favourite Di Wu, who is ranked 247, compared to 145 of the 23-year-old Indian.