Prakash out,Harsh in line for title at US ATP Challenger

Prakash Amritraj crashed out of the ATP Challenger event in Calabasas,US after a tame 2-6 2-6 defeat against American Michael Yani in the quarter-finals but Harsh Mankad earned a shot at the doubles title by reaching the summit clash.

The quarterfinal encounter was the first complete match for Prakash,a wild card entrant,in the USD 50,000 hard court event as his first round opponent had retired mid-way and got a walkover in the pre-quarterfinal round.

Meanwhile,Harsh and his Philippine partner Treat Conard Huey,seeded third,entered the final of the doubles event after thrashing Gustavo Sanchez of Venezuela and American Craig Schwartz 6-4 6-0 in their last four match.

They will fight it out with Santiago Gonzalez of Mexico and Simon Stadler of Germnay in the title clash.