Poonacha-Lock storm into doubles final; top seeds advance to singles semifinals at Delhi Open

NEW DELHI: India’s Niki Poonacha and Zimbabwe’s Courtney John Lock sailed into the doubles final of the Delhi Open Tennis tournament after defeating third seeds Jay Clarke and Johannes Ingildsen in a thrilling encounter on Friday.

The second-seeded pair dominated the opening set before Clarke and Ingildsen mounted a challenge in the second, forcing a tiebreaker. However, Poonacha and Lock held firm to close out the match in an hour and 24 minutes, registering a 6-2, 7-6 (1) win at the DLTA Complex.

Poonacha and Lock will now compete for the title against the unseeded Japanese pair, Masamichi Imamura and Rio Noguchi, who staged an impressive comeback win against Hynek Barton and Vit Kopriva.

After losing the first set 1-6, Imamura and Noguchi rallied to win the second set 6-4 and then triumphed 12-10 in a nail-biting final set to secure their place in the final.

In singles quarterfinals, top seed Kopriva continued his dominant run, dispatching sixth seed Shintaro Mochizuki 6-2, 6-4 in a high-quality contest.

Second seed Billy Harris was pushed to the limit by Elias Ymer, eventually prevailing 6-2, 4-6, 7-6 (1) in a three-set battle.

Third seed Tristan Schoolkate progressed after a demanding battle against qualifier Andre Ilagan that lasted two hours and 44 minutes.

The match included tiebreakers in the opening two sets, but Schoolkate surged ahead in the final set, clinching a 6-7 (7), 7-6 (1), 6-2 victory.

Frenchman Kyrian Jacquet held off Michael Geerts, securing a 6-3, 7-6 (3) victory to also book his spot in the last four.

Jacquet will now square up against Kopriva in the penultimate round, while second and third seeds, Harris and Schoolkate, will go head to head for a spot in the final.