Washington: Indian Davis Cupper Yuki Bhambri recorded the biggest win of his career by knocking out World No. 22 and defending champion Gael Monfils to breeze into the pre-quarterfinals of the ATP Citi Open tennis tournament here Thursday.
Bhambri, who had qualified for the main draw of the ATP 500 tournament, took 111 minutes for a 6-3, 4-6, 7-5 upset win over the sixth-seeded Frenchman. The Delhi-based Bhambri had beaten World No. 16 Fabio Fognini in 2014 Chenni Open but the Italian had retired from that match due to a fitness issue.
“It’s incredible,” Bhambri told this agency. “I just tried to fight for every point and focused on holding my serve. I played aggressive and took my chances which paid off,” he added.
It is also only the second time that Bhambri has won two main draw matches at an ATP World Tour event since his quarterfinal appearance at Chennai Open in January 2014. The last time Yuki toppled a top 50 player was in September 2015 when he beat Czech Republic’s Jiri Vesley.
Asked what it takes to beat top players Yuki said, “There is no formula. You have to treat it like another match and you have to believe and trust your abilities. I have always said I have the game, for me it’s about staying healthy and this win gives me confirmation to the fact that I can compete with the best.”
Bhambri will next take on Guido Pella of Argentina who had beaten another Indian Ramkumar Ramanathan in the opening round.
It was good news for India in men’s doubles as well with Rohan Bopanna and his partner Donald Young of USA overcoming the challenge of Canadian Daniel Nestor and Aisam-ul-Haq Qureshi 6-2, 6-3 to seal their place in the quarterfinals.
