Yuki Bhambri advances into final of ATP Challenger Chennai Open
India's top-ranked singles player, Yuki Bhambri advanced into the final of Chennai Open, beating Korea's Duckhee Lee in the semis. Bhambri, the second-seeded player of the ATP Challenger event, defeated Lee 7-5, 6-2 to set up the final clash against Australia's Jordan Thompson. Thompson, in his semi-final round, beat Spain's Pedro Martinez. Let's look at how the tournament has turned out so far.
Duckhee Lee is hearing-impaired
Bhambri's semi-final opponent, Duckhee Lee has never heard the sound of tennis ball as he was born deaf. Lee looks at the positive side of his disability saying that he doesn't get distracted by the crowd or opponent.
Chennai Open Challenger event
Chennai Open is a hard court challenger tour event which awards 80 ATP points to the winners along with a cash prize of $50,000. This is the first edition of the tournament. It is not to be confused with the former ATP World Tour 250 event that went by the same name and has now moved to Pune.
Schedule and venue
Chennai Open 2018 is being held at SDAT Tennis Stadium, Nungambakkam, Chennai from 12th to 17th February.
Top seeds in the tournament
Chennai Open 2018 saw the participation of 32 players. Australia's Jordan Thompson, India's Yuki Bhambri, Korea's Duckhee Lee, Egypt's Mohamed Safwat, and India's Sumit Nagal are the top five seeds, in that order. The tournament provides an opportunity for Indian players to improve their rankings and break into the top 100. Ranked 112, Bhambri is the highest ranked Indian singles player in the world.
