It was the power of Benoit Paire that helped him get the better of India’s Yuki Bhambri, who impressed at several points during the game before bowing out 3-6, 4-6 in the second round of the Chennai Open on Thursday.
It was Paire booming serves that caused Bhambri all kinds of problems – the Frenchman slammed 11 aces while his opponent failed to muster a single one. Bhambri, who is back after a long injury layoff, displayed some cracking volleys along with clever net play on occasions.
Paire also made more unforced errors than the 24-year-old Bhambri during the contest. Bhambri came close to breaking the World No. 47’s serve, but the Paire did enough to see off the first set, 6-3.
It was Bhambri who took the lead in the second set and showed fine form with his cross-court shots, especially with his forehand. But, the 24-year-old failed to find answers whenever Paire went deep on the baseline.
Bhambri showed even better gumption than he did in the first set. In a hurry to finish the game, Paire made made more unforced errors but made up for it by attacking the net with more regularity, setting up some fine volleyed winners. Bhambri’s defeat ended India’s hopes in the singles event.