Local lad and wild card entrant Niki Poonacha stunned 16th seed Lucas Rosol, ranked 570 places above him, to make it to the quarter finals of the Bengaluru Open at the KSLTA in Bengaluru on Tuesday. The 24-year-old won 6-4, 2-6, 6-3 over the Czech in a match that lasted 1 hour and 45 minutes.
"I am thrilled to have reached this stage of a Challenger event which was my dream since the last year. And having beaten a seeded player I am even more happy," said Poonacha.
After a gruelling opening round on Monday, Poonacha, although tired, pulled himself along and broke Rosol in the 10th game to take the first set. The 34-year-old Rosol, who reached the third round of Wimbledon in 2012 beating Rafael Nadal along the way, won breaks in the fifth and seventh games and served out for the set at 6-2. An early break in the second game of the decider saw the match turn in favour of Poonacha.
"After I broke him, I was determined to just hold my serve and I am happy that I did," said the lad who was born in Tamil Nadu and had won the Nationals last year. "I don't even know whom I am playing in the next round but I hope to keep the rhythm going," he said.
