Washington: Yuki Bhambri fought valiantly before a three-set defeat against 15th seed Kevin Anderson brought an end to his impressive campaign at the ATP Citi Open here.
The Indian qualifier, who savoured his best ever performance on the ATP World Tour, went down fighting 4-6 6-4 3-6 against the world number 45 from South Africa in the quarterfinals played last night.
Bhambri had reached quarterfinals of Chennai Open as well but that was an ATP 250 event where he won two main draw matches while he won three in the ATP 500 tournament here.
"I had a good tournament but disappointed with the result today. I felt I had a shot after winning the second set but got broken early in the third set and it's much harder to come back against a big server," Bhambri told PTI.
"I have fought well all week and felt comfortable playing against the big guys which is a good step moving forward. Looking forward to the rest of the season and hope to stay healthy," he added.
Enroute to the quarterfinals, Bhambri scalped world number 22 and defending champion Gael Monfils from France and world number 100 Guido Pella from Argentina. The 25-year-old earned 90 points, which should help him touch 150 in the world rankings. He also pocketed USD 44595 as prize money for his brilliant effort.
India's challenge ended at the USD 2,002,460 hard court event when Rohan Bopanna and his American partner also lost their quarterfinal. The unseeded Indo-American combo lost 5-7 4-6 to fourth seeded American legends Mike and Bob Bryan.
