Thaindian News

London, June 17 (IANS) India’s Prakash Amritraj moved into the final round of Wimbledon qualifiers with a 6-3, 6-3 win over Britain’s Daniel Cox.
Prakash, ranked 154, came up with a superb serve and volley game as he pinned down Cox, an aggressive baseliner.

“The conditions were ideal,” Prakash said. “I was focussed from the start, though I let him back in the match.”

The 18-year-old Cox admitted he was taught a harsh lesson on grass.

“I’m a bit disappointed to be honest - I was a bit too passive with my game,” said Cox. “I did not really put him under any pressure and I did not really feel good about my shots.”

“I was hitting and missing - either I was playing well and hitting some good shots or I was really bad and I couldn’t really get the balance right.”

“I was looking to play the perfect game and that’s not what the big players do. The top people do the basics really well and I need to learn that,” said the 627-ranked player.

Prakash next plays 28-year-old American Michael Yani who beat Japanese Go Soeda 6-2, 7-6 (5). The two have played each other once before, at the Dallas Challenger earlier this year where Prakash beat Yani in straight sets.

This is Prakash’s best performance here. In his three attempts to qualify for Wimbledon, he has never passed the second round. His famous father Vijay Amritraj made his last appearance here 28 years ago in the quarter-finals.

In the men’s qualifying doubles, India’s Somdev Devvarman and his South African partner Kevin Anderson upset eighth-seeded Ukranians Sergei Bubka and Sergiy Stakhovsky 6-2, 2-6, 6-4 to advance to the second round. They next play Italian Alessandro Motti and Australian Joseph Sirianni, who took out third-seeded Russian pair Michail Elgin and Alexandre Kudryavtsev 6-1, 7-6(6).