Anirudh-Prashanth in doubles semis; Nagal goes down fighting

Bengaluru: Sumit Nagal fought bravely but went down 4-6, 6-3, 6-3 to Max Purcell in a thrilling pre-quarterfinals of the Bengaluru Open 2023 at the KSLTA Stadium, here on Thursday.

However, the Indian camp had a reason to smile as the doubles pair of Anirudh Chandrasekhar and N. Prashanth reached the semifinals, overcoming Benjamin Lock of Zimbabwe and Australia's Akira Santillan 3-6, 6-4, 12-10.

Nagal, who had to fight through a tough three-setter against Nam Hoang Ly in the previous round, started off brightly winning the first set 6-4. The Indian was solid in all facets of the game and he did not lose a single point on his second serve.

Purcell looked shaky and could win only 33 per cent of his second serve points but the Australian harnessed his assets to better effect in the second set. Purcell, the defending Wimbledon doubles champion, upped his game a notch higher and used his booming serve to earn some quick points.

He affected a break in the eighth game for a 5-3 lead and then bagged the second set 6-3 with an easy hold.

The third set too offered a similar pattern as both the players held their serves till the 6th game. Purcell, though, looked more sorted of the two as the Aussie combined his big serves with equally powerful ground shots.

Purcell made the crucial break in the seventh game for a 4-3 lead and then held his serve to stretch the lead to 5-3. Under pressure to stay in the match, Nagal fought hard in the ninth game but Purcell clinched the break and sealed the game, set and match in his favour.

Results:

Singles (Round of 16): Max Purcell beat Sumit Nagal 4-6, 6-3, 6-3; 5-Luca Nardi beat Jason Jung 7-5, 5-7, 6-2; 8-Dimitar Kuzmanov beat Alibek Kachmazov 6-3, 6-4

Doubles (quarter-finals): Anirudh Chandrasekhar/N. Prashanth beat Benjamin Lock/Akira Santillan 3-6, 6-4, 12-10.