Chennai: The ever-improving Divij Sharan and Purav Raja livened up the ATP Chennai Open for home fans by storming into the doubles final as they scalped the second-seeded Argentines Guillermo Duran and Andres Molteni, here Friday.
Unseeded Sharan and Raja were in complete control of their semifinal and won 6-4, 6-2 in 63 minutes. It will be the third ATP level final together for Sharan and Raja, having won titles in Bogota (2013) and Los Kabos (2016).
When India’s challenge has already ended in the singles, and veteran doubles star Leander Paes has also exited, the Sharan-Raja pair kept the home fans interested in the tournament.
Paes was impressed with the ‘I-formation’ style of play and had said earlier that it would give Sharan and Raja excellent results.
“It really helps playing the I-formation. It keeps the players guessing which way the ball will go. It has worked for us,” Sharan said after the match.
Sharan also said that they have set themselves the target of getting into the top 30 in 2017. “It’s a great start to the season. If you are ranked better, it helps in getting good tournaments. We want to be in the top 30 this year,” he informed.
Meanwhile in men’s singles Russian Daniil Medvedev earned his maiden entry into the semifinals of an ATP World Tour event with a 6-4, 6-1 win over Slovakian qualifier Jozef Kovalik.
Press Trust of India
