Amritraj, 1st Indian in a decade to reach an ATP semis

Wildcard holder Prakash achieved the feat by ending qualifier Bopanna’s dream run at the USD 385,000 event with a 6-4 6-3 victory in an all-Indian quarterfinal match.

Bopanna had been in fine form in the tournament, having stunned top seed American Mardy Fish in the second round before setting up date against Prakash.

Interestingly, Prakash’s famous father, Vijay had won the same tournament thrice — in 1976, 1980 and 1984.

Prakash will now take on Canadian Frank Dancevi in the semifinal after the seventh seed upset fourth seed Russian Igor Kunitsyn 7-5 6-3 in the other quarterfinal.

Bopanna and Amritraj, however, could once again face off against each other, albeit in doubles competition.

Seeded fourth, Bopanna and his Pakistani partner Aisam-ul-Haq Qureshi advanced to the semifinals after beating South African Kevin Anderson and American James Cerretanu 7-6 (4) 3-6 10-7.

Bopanna and Qureshi will next be up against the winners of the match between wildcards Amritraj and Luxumberg’s Gilles Muller and Rik De Voest (South Africa) and Ashley Fisher (Australia).