Sunil Kumar Sipaeya’s cheering squad had increased considerably by the end of his match against Pakistan’s Aisam Qureshi. And as a forehand from the second seed landed long, the Indian wild card entrant turned towards the stands to acknowlege the applause he richly deserved.Clearly the underdog in this match against the player from Lahore, Sipaeya pulled off a surprise 3-6, 7-6 (7-5), 7-6 (7-4) victory at the DLTA Complex today to reach the semi-finals of the $50,000 ATP Challenger tournament.“He serves very well, so I had to get used to returning his serve. The most important thing, I realised was that I had to hold my own serve, and that’s what I was focussing on. Towards the end of the match, I was trying to make him run around the court,” said Sipaeya.The strategy certainly worked. In the first set, Sipaeya’s errors allowed Qureshi two break points in the eighth game, and he converted the second chance he got, blasting off a forehand winner that landed right on the line, giving him a 5-3 lead. He followed up with a fine service game, and a service winner gave him the first set 6-3. It was Qureshi who looked more likely to get a break in the second set, but backhand errors made him waste the chances he got in the fifth and 11th games of the set. Both times Sipaeya had a hard time holding his serve, but managed to fend off the break points, stretching the set to a tie-break.The second set tie-break opened with a winning volley from Qureshi, as the Pakistani drew first blood. However, it was an error at the net this time that let Sunil back into contention. Another missed volley gave the Indian the crucial mini-break, and powerful serves helped him wrap up the set.The decisive set followed much the same pattern, except that it was now Qureshi who looked slightly uncomfortable on his serve. However, again it was a tie-break that ensued, and strangely enough, the usually elegant volleyer conceded a crucial mini break after yet another error at the net. Therafter, it was just a matter of time before Sipaeya ensured a semi-final spot for himself.The Chandigarh player’s next opponent will be unseeded Czech Tomas Cakl, who defeated American Alberto Francis 4-6, 6-2, 6-4.The other semi-final pits eighth seed Ukrainian Ivan Sergeyev against Michail Elgin of Russia, the fifth seed. •Singles quarter final results: Sunil Kumar Sipaeya bt Aisam Qureshi (PAK) 3-6, 7-6 (5), 7-6 (4); Tomas Cakl (CZE) bt Alberto Francis (USA) 4-6, 6-2, 6-4; Ivan Sergeyev (UKR) bt Ilia Marchenko (UKR) 6-3, 6-4; Michail Elgin (RUS) bt Sebastien de Chanauc (FRA) 4-6, 7-5, 6-4. •Doubles semi-final results: Xin-yuan Yu/Shao Zuan Zeng (CHN) bt Patrick Briaud (USA)/Alexey Kedriouk (KAZ) 6-7 (2), 7-6 (4), 10-6; Pavel Chekhov/Michail Elgin (RUS) bt Martin Slanar (AUT)/Dekel Valtzer (ISR) 1-6, 6-3, 10-8.
