Yuki Bhambri shocks world number 12 Lucas Pouille to enter Indian Wells third round

Yuki Bhambri upset the ninth seed Lucas Pouille of France in the second round of Indian Wells ATP Masters 1000 tournament.
Indian tennis star Yuki Bhambri | PTI
Indian tennis star Yuki Bhambri | PTI

Indian tennis star Yuki Bhambri upset ninth seed Lucas Pouille of France in the second round of Indian Wells ATP Masters 1000 tournament.

Yuki, ranked 110, defeated World No. 12 Pouille 6-4, 6-4 in one hour and 19 minutes.

The former junior world number one had beaten Nicolas Mahut in the opening round for his first win at ATP Masters 1000 tournament.

Yuki raced to 4-1 lead in the opening set before being broken for the first time in the match. But the young lad from India held on to his nerve to take the opening set 6-4.

The second set was a closely contested one with Yuki breaking seasoned campaigner Pouille in the third game. However, the Frenchman broke back in the sixth game to make it 3-3 in the second set.

Pouille won the seventh game and raced to 4-3 on serve, but the Indian star produced high-quality tennis in the following three games to register a massive upset against the ninth seed Pouille.

The win is the biggest for the 25-year-old Indian, who had shocked the tennis world by demolishing Citi Open defending champion and world number 22 Gael Monfils in August 2017.

Yuki had beaten world number 16 Fabio Fognini in 2014 at the Chennai Open but the Italian had retired from that match due to a fitness issue.

The win has already ensured Bhambri 45 ranking points and USD 47,170.

Bhambri will next face 2017 Wimbledon semifinalist Sam Querrey, who beat Mischa Zverev 6-4, 7-5 in the second round.

(With inputs from PTI)

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