Tata Open Maharashtra: Majchrzak shocks Musetti in quarterfinal; Balaji-Vardhan exit in semis

Poland’s Kamil Majchrzak stormed into the semifinal of the 2022 Tata Open Maharashtra, while N Sriram Balaji and Vishnu Vardhan suffered defeat against the duo of Luke Saville and John-Patrick Smith in the doubles semifinals encounter.

Kamil Majchrzak in action during his quarterfinal match against Lorenzo Musetti at the Tata Open Maharashtra on Friday.

Poland’s Kamil Majchrzak stormed into the semifinal of the 2022 Tata Open Maharashtra, upsetting second seed Lorenzo Musetti of Italy in a thrilling three-setter at the Balewadi Stadium here on Friday.

However, N Sriram Balaji and Vishnu Vardhan suffered defeat against the duo of Luke Saville and John-Patrick Smith in the doubles semifinals encounter.

The Indian duo, which made a cut into the main draw as an alternate pair, tried making a comeback into the second set, but the top-seeded Australian pair denied them any chance before securing a 6-2, 6-4 win. 

Earlier in the afternoon, the unseeded Polish player beat Musetti 6-2, 6-7(7-5), 6-4 in the quarterfinals of the tournament, which is being organised by the Maharashtra State Lawn Tennis Association, and will conclude on Sunday.

The 26-year-old Majchrzak started the match confidently against World No. 66 Musetti and convincingly pocketed the first set.

But Musetti staged a comeback and got his rhythm back in the second set, levelling the scores after securing the tie-breaker in an intense battle.

“It was very difficult because after the first set Lorenzo changed his tactics. He made me play longer rallies and he actually found his rhythm so it was difficult from almost the beginning of the second set. Maybe, I was not returning good enough to put pressure on his service games,” Majchrzak said after the match.

When it seemed the 19-year-old Musetti, the youngest player to break into the top 100, would make a comeback into the contest, World No. 95 Majchrzak found his mojo and put up a strong show to seal the set as well as the match.

“He (Majchrzak) was serving really well. I’m upset as it was so close in the end. I won a great second set and was playing better. I think I was leading the game in the third set and felt I could win. At the moment, I’m sad about the match but I have to take what it is and try to rectify my mistakes and come out a better player next week,” Musetti said after his exit from the tournament. 

Majchrzak will now face Emil Ruusuvuori of Finland in the semifinals on Saturday.

Ruusuvuori sent defending champion Jiri Vesely packing with a 6-3, 6-4 win in another quarterfinals contest, played later in the day.

The 22-year-old Ruusuvuori, who kickstarted his campaign by defeating last edition’s runner-up Egor Gerasimov, extended his brilliant run in the tournament as he took just one hour and 17 minutes to complete the straight sets victory over Vesely without breaking a sweat.