Yuki Bhambri to face Milos Raonic in Queen’s Club opener

Yuki Bhambri, world no. 84, will face world no.31 Milos Raonic in the first round of Queen’s Club Championship after making it to the main draw despite being seeded fifth in the Qualifiers. The Indian star ended the hopes of the American Taylor Fritz with a comfortable 6-4, 6-2 victory in one hour and 10 minutes. It was the second meeting between the two players with Fritz emerging winner last year at the Ilkley event. Bhambri lost his serve twice but broke his rival five times to secure a place in the main draw of the event that serves as a preparation for Wimbledon. 

Saketh Myneni qualified for the main draw at the Fergana Challenger in Uzbekistan with a 6-2, 4-6, 6-3 win over Russia’s Aslan Karatsev. He will next face D.Zhyrmont in the round of 32. 18-year-old Manish Sureshkumar, however, finished runner-up in his first Futures final in Sri Lanka where he fought well before losing 5-7, 2-6 to Russia’s Alexander Zhurbin. 

Meanwhile, Prajnesh Gunneswaran, who had upset world No 23 Denis Shapovalov in Stuttgart last week, withdrew from the Ilkley Challenger due to a strain.