Bhambri enters maiden ATP Masters 1000 semifinal

India’s Yuki Bhambri entered his maiden ATP Masters 1000 semifinal as he and his Swedish partner Andre Goransson defeated Alexander Erler and Andrea Vavassori in straight sets in Indian Wells here.

The 33-year-old Indian had previously reached the doubles quarter-finals at the Masters 1000 level twice, including at Indian Wells last year. Bhambri and Goransson defeated the Austrian-Italian pair 6-3, 7-6 in the quarterfinals that lasted over one hour and 30 minutes. The Indo-Swedish duo dominated on their first serve, winning 83 per cent of the points (29/35), which proved crucial in taking the second-set tie-break and closing out the match. They will take on France’s Arthur Rinderknech and Monaco’s Valentin Vacherot in the semifinals on Friday. Rinderknech and Vacherot defeated the Russian duo of Andrey Rublev and Karen Khachanov 6-3, 6-4 in their quarterfinal.