Yuki Bhambri found his way past fourth seed Matt Reid of Australia to win 6-4, 3-6, 6-3, moving into the semi-finals of the Asia/Oceania ITF Juniors tournament. The difference in the ITF rankings between Bhambri and Reid is a mere nine places — Reid being 86th and Bhambri 95th, and this statistic was reflected in the close clash that unfolded. Bhambri broke his opponent in the opening game, but this turned out to be a short-lived advantage. Unforced errors meant he had to face a number of break points, and though he fended away a few, a double fault in the fourth game gave Reid the break back. However, it was the Delhi boy who earned a break to lead 5-3, and this time he held on, eventually winning the set 6-4. As the second set got underway, it appeared as if Reid was determined to take this match all the way into a decider, letting the forehands fly as he played Bhambri off the court. The break appeared inevitable—it came in the fourth game of the set, and a 6-3 score in Reid’s favour meant a third set was on the horizon.It was a tired Bhambri who got the third set off the blocks, and after he was broken it looked as though his story was to end in the quarter finals itself. Reid impressed in his next service game, and an increasingly frustrated Bhambri increased his error-count by attempting to smash winners off every ball. The going looked good for the Australian, but a poor game in the fourth gave Bhambri the chance to pull level. The two youngsters kept pace with each other as the set continued, but opportunity came calling for the Indian in the eighth game. A double fault and a forehand error gave Bhambri the break, and he held his nerve to serve out the match in the next game. Poojashree Venkatesh was the other Indian who kept herself in contention for the title as she did not lose a single game to Thailand’s Khunpak Issara, dominating in a 6-0, 6-0 display.
