Yuki Bhambri’s family and friends, perched upon a wooden structure designed to hold camera tripods for those filming action on the inside courts at the DLTA Complex, raised the intensity and volume of their cheers as their player moved in for the kill against Vishnu Vardhan on Friday.

Their semi-final of the $15,000 ITF Futures had seen a complete turnaround from the opening moments of the match, and the dominance of Bhambri’s game had turned into a battle for his survival, courtesy a few casual volleys slammed into the net — one of those on set point in the second set — and some excellent play from Vardhan, and the time had come to go for broke.

But as it turned out, Vardhan let a few double faults ruin his chances, and at the same time, Bhambri sent down some untouchable serves that made all the difference in his 6-3 4-6 7-6 (4) win.

“I’m happy with the way I lasted through this match. I was dictating in the first two sets, but a couple of my volleys were probably too casual and they cost me,” Bhambri said after his match.

“The serve made the difference right at the end, he messed up a few, and I held mine.

“After he served the double fault in the tie-break, it made my task a lot easier. I thought that was my only chance and I had to go for it. I knew this match would be a tough one because I played him the last time around when I was in Delhi and it wasn’t easy.”

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