Driving Naari Programme launched in Chandigarh
Chennai, JANUARY 8
Britain’s Aljaz Bedene ended the run of home favourite Ramkumar Ramanathan, beating him 6-7(5) 6-4 6-3 in the quarterfinals of the Chennai Open.
But there was no trouble for two-time defending champion Stanislas Wawrinka, who cruised into the singles semifinals with a 6-4 6-4 victory over Guillermo Garcia-Lopez of Spain.
In the day’s other quarterfinal, third seeded Benoit Paire also scored a straight sets win, beating Italian qualifier Thomas Fabbiano 6-4 7-5 after spending 80 minutes on the court. World No. 4 Wawrinka will take on Paire in the last-four clash tomorrow.
Wawrinka needed 77 minutes to see off the challenge of Spaniard Lopez, seeded fifth in the ATP Tour event.
Leaving aside the eighth game in which Wawrinka made three unforced errors, the Swiss was in total control, winning eight straight points from 4-4 to close the set 6-4 in 53 minutes.
Wawrinka came up with superb returns and his defensive forehands were perfectly executed, the highlight being the fourth game when he followed up a big serve with a perfect volley before earning a break point in the fifth. Keeping up the momentum, Wawrinka broke Lopez in the seventh game before sealing the match in his favour.
Sania-Hingis in final
Sania Mirza and Martina Hingis reached the final of the women’s doubles in the Brisbane International with a 6-3, 7-5 triumph over Alla Kudryavtseva and Andreja Klepac.
In the men’s singles, Roger Federer overcame a lingering sickness to hold off Grigor Dimitrov 6-4, 6-7 (4), 6-4 to get into the semifinals.
