India’s Bhambri wows Wawrinka

dubai — India’s Yuki Bhambri will open his Dubai Tennis Championships campaign on Tuesday against Lukas Rosol of the Czech Republic.

Bhambri, India’s highestranked player, was given a wildcard by the organisers of the Dubai Tennis Championships.

The Delhi-born player who won the junior Australian Open title in 2009, has been making steady progress after turning professional.

The 23-year-old baseliner from Delhi reached a career high ranking of 88 in November last year.

His improvements have even impressed two-time Grand Slam winner Stanislas Wawrinka.

“Yeah I saw him many times. He is a good player,” Wawrinka said when asked about the Indian youngster during his media interview on Sunday.

“He always plays well at the Chennai Open. He likes the ener-

He (Bhambri) always plays well at the Chennai Open. He likes the energy of the crowd

Stanislas Wawrinkah

gy of the crowd. Hopefully he can keep practising well to achieve a better ranking.”

Bhambri will have to be at his best against a first round opponent who is known as one of the biggest hitter of the ball.

Rosol, the current world number 46 who became famous after beating Rafael Nadal in the 2012 Wimbledon second round, might prove to be too strong for the 100-ranked Indian on Tuesday.

Also India’s Mahesh Bhupathi will team up with Pakistan’s Aisam-ul Qureshi in the doubles against Simone Bolelli and Andreas Seppi of Italy on Tuesday.