Czech star Jiri Vesely stormed into the single semi-finals at the third edition of Tata Open Maharashtra with a sensational three-set victory against Ilya Ivashka of Belarus at the Balewadi Stadium in Pune on Friday.
India’s only hope for the title in the South Asia’s only ATP Tour tournament, in-form pair of Ramkumar Ramanathan and Purav Raja will face challenge from third seeded Jonathan Erich and Andrei Vasilevski in the second doubles semi-finals on Saturday.
The duo entered the last-four with a 6-2, 6-1 win over Leander Paes and Matthew Ebden on Thursday. Meanwhile, Andre Goransson and Christopher Rungkat overcame Romain Arneodo and Andre Begemann 6-4, 7-6 (7-1) in the first doubles semi-finals on Friday.
The 26-year-old Vesely, despite losing the first set 6-2, made an unlikely comeback to win the second set 6-1. The third set saw both the players giving a tough fight, which went to the decider. However, the former World No 35, who upset Novak Djokovic at Monte Carlo in 2016, managed to hold the edge over his opposition to complete come from behind 2-6, 6-1, 7-6 (13-11).
“It was a very close match. I think I was definitely lucky. I felt he deserved it more than I do at the end of the match. We both were very nervous,” Vesely said after the match. Second-seed Ricardas Berankis of Lithuania recovered well after the first set setback to register 4-6, 7-6 (7-4), 6-2 victory against Japan’s Yuichi Sugita.
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