Marrakech (Morocco): India's Yuki Bhambri and his French partner Albano Olivetti knocked out third seeds Nicholas Barrientos and Rafael Matos to breeze into the men's doubles semifinals of the ATP Marrakech Open here. The unseeded Indo-French combine upset Colombian Nicholas Barrientos and Rafael Matos of Brazil, eking out a close 7-6(5) 6-7 10-7 win in the quarterfinal that lasted almost two hours on Thursday.
They will face second seeds Lucas Miedler and Alexander Erler of Austria in the last-four stage of the ATP 250 event. The quarterfinal was fought on an even keel with both pairs winning 50 per cent of the total points. Bhambri and Olivetti hit 10 aces as compared to their opponents' three. Bhambri has teamed up with Olivetti for the first time this season, having played with Dutch player Robin Haase in most of the tournaments.
The Indian had paired with former partner Michael Venus from New Zealand at the Miami Masters where they made a first-round exit. Bhambri's best performance of the season came at in ATP 500 Dubai, whereas qualifiers the Indian and Haase reached the semifinals, earning crucial 225 ranking points. Ranked 62, the 31-year-old Bhambri is India's second highest ranked player behind world number one Rohan Bopanna.
It will be interesting to see if Bopanna chooses Bhambri as his partner for the 2024 Paris Olympic Games. Bopanna being a top-10 player will have the choice of selecting his partner.
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