It was the biggest win of Yuki’s career when the third seed formidable Italian, who struggled due to an injured left leg, conceded the match after trailing 1-6 5-5.
Fognini had earlier pulled out of the doubles event for which he was supposed to partner India’s veteran star Leander Paes. They duo were seeded second.
Yuki’s next opponent will be Canadian world number 32 Vasek Pospisil, who got a walkover from Taipei’s Yen-Hsun Lu. The 21-year-old Indian, ranked 195, is only the third Indian after Somdev Devvarman and Leander Paes to make the singles quarterfinals of this event in Chennai.
Somdev had ended runner-up in the 2009 edition. Paes had reached the semifinal in 1998 when the event was known as Gold Flake Open. Paes had lost to eventual champion Patrick Rafter from Australia. 19-year-old Chennai boy Ramkumar, who came through qualfiers and shocked Somdev in the first round, put up a brave fight against world number 38 Marcel Granollers before losing his second round encounter 2-6 4-6.
A proper contest would have served as a good tennis lesson for the Indian youngster. It will be first ever appearance for Yuki in an ATP tour tournament quarterfinals tomorrow and it will help him improve his ranking. ‘It’s great to be in the quarterfinals of an ATP tour event before the home crowd. You don’t get to play matches against world number 16 everyday. I am looking forward to next match tomorrow,’ Yuki said.
‘He showed why he is top-20 player, hope he recovers well before the Australian Open,’ Yuki said when asked about Fognini’s fight despite laid low by the injury.
Earlier, second seed Mikhail Youzhny, Russian qualifier Alexander Kudryavtsev, also conceded their matches to mark injuries.
Top-seed Li Na advances in Shenzhen Open
BEIJING: Chinese superstar Li Na battled her way to yet another victory on Thursday, downing Romania’s Monica Niculescu after three action-filled sets in the women’s singles quarterfinal of the Shenzhen Open. Li, Asia’s highest-ranking player in tennis history, opened strongly, besting Niculescu 7-5 in the first set. The 26-year-old Romanian fought back with a 6-4 win in the second set, before Li toppled her with a third-set, 6-4 victory. Li, 31, is the defending Shenzhen Open champion and is also the world number three player. Her success has sparked a new Chinese interest in tennis. Fifth-seed Peng Shuai soared to victory over Slovakia’s Jana Cepelova 6-3, 6-2.
Fognini had earlier pulled out of the doubles event for which he was supposed to partner India’s veteran star Leander Paes. They duo were seeded second.
Yuki’s next opponent will be Canadian world number 32 Vasek Pospisil, who got a walkover from Taipei’s Yen-Hsun Lu. The 21-year-old Indian, ranked 195, is only the third Indian after Somdev Devvarman and Leander Paes to make the singles quarterfinals of this event in Chennai.
Somdev had ended runner-up in the 2009 edition. Paes had reached the semifinal in 1998 when the event was known as Gold Flake Open. Paes had lost to eventual champion Patrick Rafter from Australia. 19-year-old Chennai boy Ramkumar, who came through qualfiers and shocked Somdev in the first round, put up a brave fight against world number 38 Marcel Granollers before losing his second round encounter 2-6 4-6.
A proper contest would have served as a good tennis lesson for the Indian youngster. It will be first ever appearance for Yuki in an ATP tour tournament quarterfinals tomorrow and it will help him improve his ranking. ‘It’s great to be in the quarterfinals of an ATP tour event before the home crowd. You don’t get to play matches against world number 16 everyday. I am looking forward to next match tomorrow,’ Yuki said.
‘He showed why he is top-20 player, hope he recovers well before the Australian Open,’ Yuki said when asked about Fognini’s fight despite laid low by the injury.
Earlier, second seed Mikhail Youzhny, Russian qualifier Alexander Kudryavtsev, also conceded their matches to mark injuries.
Top-seed Li Na advances in Shenzhen Open
BEIJING: Chinese superstar Li Na battled her way to yet another victory on Thursday, downing Romania’s Monica Niculescu after three action-filled sets in the women’s singles quarterfinal of the Shenzhen Open. Li, Asia’s highest-ranking player in tennis history, opened strongly, besting Niculescu 7-5 in the first set. The 26-year-old Romanian fought back with a 6-4 win in the second set, before Li toppled her with a third-set, 6-4 victory. Li, 31, is the defending Shenzhen Open champion and is also the world number three player. Her success has sparked a new Chinese interest in tennis. Fifth-seed Peng Shuai soared to victory over Slovakia’s Jana Cepelova 6-3, 6-2.