India beat Thailand; assured of bronze in tennis team event

Guangzhou, Nov 14 (PTI) India's Somdev Devvarman and
Sanam Singh scored contrasting wins as India's men's tennis
team Sunday assured itself of at least a bronze medal in the
Asian Games by securing a place in the semifinals here.
Fourth seeds India won the quarter-final tie against
seventh seeds and last edition's bronze medallists Thailand by
taking an unassailable 2-0 lead after Sanam Singh and Somdev
Devvarman won their respective singles rubbers.
India will take on top seeds Chinese Taipei in the
semifinals.
Unranked Sanam defeated 546th ranked Kittipong
Wachiramanowong 6-1 6-4 in the first singles match in one hour
and eight minutes.
World number 106 and Commonwealth Games gold medallist
Somdev then clinched the issue for India by edging past
464-ranked Danai Udomchoke 7-5 7-5 in one hour and 43 minutes.
Sanam broke his rival in the second game and then held
his own to take a 3-0 lead. The Indian broke the Thai one more
time in the sixth game and served out the set.
Wachiramanowong raised his game and posed tough challenge
in the second set and then broke Sanam in the sixth game but
the Indian knew how to overcome his rival.
The second singles was a close affair with Udomchoke
engaging Somdev in a gruelling fight. The opening set went on
serve till 11 games but Somdev got the elusive break in the
12th game to nose ahead.
The Indian again broke the Thai for an early lead but
Udomchoke broke back and yet again the set got stretched to
the full length.
Somdev broke Udomchoke for one last time in the 12th game
to ensure India's passage to the semifinals. PTI AT
SMT