Chennai: Yuki Bhambri, who got a wild card, wasn’t good enough for top seed Janko Tipsarevic as the Indian lost to the Serbian 1-6, 3-6 in the 2012 Aircel Chennai Open Tennis Tournament at the SDAT-Nungambakkam Tennis Stadium here on Thursday. The win propelled Tisparevic into the quarterfinals of the tournament.
World No. 9 Tipsarevic, semi-finalist in the previous two editions, broke the Indian, ranked 345 in the world, thrice in the first set and once in the second to wrap the match in 62 minutes.
"It was a good start to the season, hope I can continue like that," said Tipsarevic, who will meet Belgian wild card David Goffin next.
Asked of his title chances, the Serbian said: "I'm not looking too far ahead, just taking it one match at a time."
The 19-year-old Bhambri said there were a lot of positives to take from the match. "It was a good second set... just one break, I think I played pretty well, matched him in the second set," he said.
"I was nervous, but I played well," he said of playing a top-10 ranked opponent. "It was a great experience. You get to learn a lot when you play matches like this.
"I think I am heading in the right direction, which is a good sign. I'm hoping that in a few years now I'll be there too."
