Matsui to lock horns with Udomchoke; top seed crashes out

Chikmagalur, Karnataka, Apr 22 (UNI) Toshihide Matsui of Japan will clash with second seed Danai Udomchoke of Thailand tomorrow for the US Dollar 25,000 ATP Challenger Championship as top seed Hyung-Taik Lee of Korea was overwhelmed by the unseeded Japanese in a major upset, here today.

Ranked 354, Matsui, with his superb backhand shots, kept the 102nd ranked Korean at bay, though the first set was stretched to a tie-breaker 7-6 (8-6). He wrapped up the second set 6-4 to enter the finals.

Danai booked his berth in the finals as third seed Yen-Hsun Lu of Taipei retired due to exhaustion during the third set. After conceding the fist set at 4-6, Danai succeeded in winning the second with the same margin (6-4). When the duo was tied at 2-2 in the third set, Lu complained of uneasiness due to dehydration and before a doctor could attend to him, he announced his retirement.

Results: Singles (Semifinals): S2 Danai Udomchoke (Tha) bt Yan-Hsui Lu (Tpe) 4-6, 6-4, 2-2 (retired); Toshihide Matsui (Jpn) bt S1 Hyung-Taik Lee (Kor) 7-6 (8-6) 6-4.

UNI MSP GD SKB1635