Danai Udomchoke shakes hands with partner Lu Yen-hsun of Taiwan following their win in the Thailand Open yesterday. The duo next takes on the Ratiwatana twins in the semis.
Trio of Thais into doubles semis of Thailand Open
Danai Udomchoke and his long-time buddy Lu Yen-hsun of Taiwan joined the Ratiwatana twins in the men's doubles semi-finals, marking the first time in Thailand Open history that three locals have reached the last-four stage.
The week's biggest crowd of around 1,000 fans turned up at the 7,000-capacity Impact Arena, Muang Thong Thani, yesterday to witness the quarter-final victory of the Thai No 1, who teamed up with the 65th-ranked Taiwanese to oust Brazil's Andre Sa and Britain's Jamie Murray 6-4 7-5.
"I have to give credit to my partner for playing so well. I missed a lot at the beginning of the second set. But Lu served and returned well. He really helped me today,'' said Danai, who will now face Thai twins Sonchat and Sanchai.
"We are the underdogs because the twins are stronger in the doubles. They are playing with great confidence at the moment. But we will have to rely on our singles skills to fight them,'' said Danai, in his first ATP semi-final.
The Taiwanese No 1, now 29, is an old friend of Danai's, having met him in the junior ranks when they were both just 18. At that time, Lu looked up to the more successful Danai.
"His ranking was high and I wished I could become like him. We have travelled together, played in the same events and even hired the same coach. He's a great guy,'' said Lu who became more successful on the pro tour, reaching a career high of 33 in 2010, against the 77 achieved by Danai in 2007.
In singles action, all the favourites cruised into today's quarter-finals except for sixth-seeded Victor Troicki of Serbia who was knocked out by Gael Monfils of France 7-5 7-5. The result was not a big surprise, though, as the Frenchman once hovered around the top 10 and is in a good form despite only returning from a three-month injury break last week.
"Victor was a bit better than me at the beginning of the match. He tried many things. Then I switched my plans a bit. I tried to slice more and be more aggressive. Then it was a physical fight between him and me, rallying around the court. Eventually I got through to win," said former world No 7 Monfils, who next takes on 2009 champion and compatriot Gilles Simon.
The fourth-seeded Simon, sporting his signature "Wolverine" beard, was briefly tested by Japan's Go Soeda before prevailing 6-4 6-4.
"Go has improved a lot this year. He is No 52 in the world and to be in that position, he has to be a great player. I feel good from the baseline but I had some problems with my serves. Playing indoor hard court without serving well is difficult for me as I never have easy points. I knew it would be a great fight from the baseline. I'm happy to get through in two sets,'' said Simon, who is still looking for his first tuk-tuk ride this year after falling in love with the three-wheeled taxis on a previous visit.
Elsewhere, Australian heart-throb and eighth seed Bernard Tomic, a favourite among young female fans, came back from a set down to edge past Israel's Sela Dudi 4-6 6-4 6-4.
"He played well, I didn't play as good as I did in the first round. I wasn't aggressive enough. But it's difficult with a player like that. He is a unusual player. He plays unusual tennis. He's been around for very long. He slices a lot. It's not comfortable. It was very tight in the third. I think I'm lucky and happy that I'm through," said the teenager, who will wait for the winner of the match between second seed Richard Gasquet of France and Grigor Dimitrov of Bulgaria.
"It will be similar to the first round as Gasquet and Dimitrov play with one hand like Garcia-Lopez. I have to play great to win. Gasquet is the favourite to win but Dimitrov is a good player, he can win if he plays well," said Tomic.
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Source: http://www.news.thethailandlinks.com/2012/09/28/troicki-succumbs-to-gael-force/
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