HELSINKI, FINLAND): Fourth-seeded India’s Purav Raja and Divij Sharan beat Russian pair Alibek Kachmazov and Pavel Kotov 6-3 6-2 in the doubles semi-finals at the €67,960 HPP Open ATP Challenger in Helsinki on Friday. .

The Indian pair started their semi-final match by breaking their rivals in the first game of the first set to take a 1-0 lead. However, Alibek and Pavel broke in the second game of the set and drew 1-1.

Raja and Sharan got a vital break in the ninth game to take the set 6-3 in 30 minutes.

In the second set, the Indian pair raced to a 3-0 lead after breaking their opponents in the second game of the second set. They got another break in the eighth game to win the set 6-2 in 37 minutes and earn their place in the final.

In the second doubles semifinal, Reese Stalder (USA) and Petros Tsitsipas (Greece) defeated the pair of Alexander Erler and Lucas Miedler from Austria 3-6 6-4 10-3. The tight match lasted one hour and 15 minutes.

PRAJNESH MOVE UP: India’s Prajnesh Gunneswaran defeated Germany’s Sebastian Fanselow 3-6 6-2 7-5 in the second round of the singles at the $53,120 Paine Schwartz Partners Challenger in the USA.

In the quarterfinals of the doubles, the Indian pair of N.Sriram Balaji and Jeevan Nedunchezhiyan beat India’s Anirudh Chandrasekar and Australia’s Adam Walton 7-6 (8) 2-6 10-4.

RAMKUMAR LOSES: Seventh-seeded Yosuke Watanuki of Japan ousted India’s Ramkumar Ramanathan 7-5 6-1 in a singles quarter-final match at the $63,120 Hyogo Noah Challenger in Kobe (Japan).