Fourth seeded Yuki Bhambri sailed into the second round of the $125000 winning 6-4,6-2 against Estonian Jurgen Zopp in the Tashkent ATP Challenger on Monday.
The 105-ranked Bhambri took 1 hour 17 minutes to score the win over Zopp at the Olympic Tennis School. Bhambri will take on Croatian Nikola Mektic who scored a easy 6-2,6-3 win against Mikhail Elgin of Russia.
The 23-year-old Bhambri looked solid in the match against the 158th-ranked Zopp. In the first set Bhambri broke Zopp in the seventh game and took the set 6-4.
In the second set, Bhambri broke the 27 year old Estonian in the third and the seventh games and won the set 6-2 and a place in the last sixteen.
"The first match of any event is always tough and tricky. This was particularly a tough first round as Zopp is a good player, but happy to get through," Bhambri said in a statement after the match.
But Bhambri lost in the doubles first round with his New Zealand partner Michael Venus, going down against Israeli pair of Dudi Sela and Amir Weintraub 6-7(3), 6-4, 10-6.