ATP Tour: Rublev holds off Broady in Hong Kong opener, reached quarterfinals
Andrey Rublev was forced to dig deep, beating qualifier Liam Broady as the top seed completed the Hong Kong Open 2024 quarterfinal line-up on Thursday night.
Andrey Rublev was forced to dig deep, beating qualifier Liam Broady as the top seed completed the Hong Kong Open 2024 quarterfinal line-up on Thursday night.
Srikanth was completely outplayed in the first game, at one stage reeling at 3-11, eventually losing it 9-21. In the second game, although he showed signs of a comeback, he failed to force the match into a deciding game.
Srikanth will now face either Hong Kong's Lee Cheuk Yiu or Danish world No 5 Viktor Axelsen in the semifinal.
Sindhu keeps the Indian challenge alive in women's singles after Saina Nehwal's elimination at the hands of China's Cai Yan Yan earlier in the day. This is the former world no 1's fifth first-round exit in the last six tournaments.
Srikanth will be looking for a turnaround in the tournament as his struggle to emulate his form in 2017 continues.
Currently ranked 9 in the world rankings, Saina has now lost five of her last six tournaments in the opening round itself.
Hong Kong Open is one of the few high-profile sports events to go ahead in the city during five months of increasingly violent demonstrations.
Sourabh, seeded fourth in the qualifiers, first defeated Thailand's Tanongsak Saensomboonsuk 21-15 21-19 before getting the better of Lucas Claerbout of France 21-19 21-19 in the final qualifying round.
Hong Kong has for months been rocked by increasingly violent protests, triggered by an extradition bill. The bill has now been withdrawn but the protests have continued.
Indian shuttlers Kidambi Srikanth and Sameer Verma lost their respective men's singles quarter-final matches to bow out of the Hong Kong Open here on Friday.
