Bangkok: Yuki Bhambri shocked third seed Japanese Go Soeda in a tight three-set contest to storm into the semifinals of the USD 75000 ATP Challenger tennis tournament here on Friday.
Unseeded Indian Davis Cupper Yuki battled past world number 87 Soeda 6-4 3-6 6-3 in the quarterfinal, which lasted one hour and 48 minutes.
Saving both the break chances in the opening set proved crucial for the Indian youngster as he later capitalized on one of the four chances to nose ahead in the last-eight clash.
In the second set, the Japanese came out firing, converting both the chances to draw parity.
Yuki upped his game in the deciding set as he broke Soeda twice to clinch the match.
Yuki had lost to Soeda in the only contest between them before this match and now the head-to-head count is 1-1.
He next faces second seed Sam Groth.