Yuki Bhambri is only one step away from qualifying for the main draw of the 2018 Australian Open after winning his second round match at the Qualifiers on Friday.
The 15th seed was in commanding form as he overpowered Carlos Taberner 6-0, 6-2 in just under an hour. As the score line suggests, the top-ranked Indian singles player breezed through winning 74% of his first serve points and 82% on second serve, converting six out of eight break points while giving away only one of two.
He had earlier beaten had beaten Canada’s Brayden Schnur 1-6, 6-3, 6-4 in the first round. He will either play 26th seed Peter Polansky in the final round of qualifying.
If Bhambri makes it to the main draw, it will be his third appearance at the Melbourne Park as a senior. He had earlier played Andy Murray in 2015 and Tomas Berdych in 2016 in first round. The Indian was the junior champion at Australian Open in 2009.
The only other Indian in the qualifying is Ramkumar Ramanathan, who is to play France’s Gleb Sakharov in his second round match. The 28th seed had come back from a set and 3-5 down to beat American Bradley Klahn 6-7(6-8), 7-6(7-3), 6-2 in the first round.
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