Yuki Bhambri will have to wait for his first singles Challenger title of the season as he ended runner-up at the Samarkand ATP event, following defeat against Russian top seed Teymuraz Gabashvili, here today.
Seventh seed Yuki lost the summit clash 3-6 1-6 to world number 82 Gabashvili, who had defeated the Indian youngster at the Karshi Challenger also, last week.
Such was the dominance of 29-year-old Gabashvili, who won his second straight singles title, that Yuki did not get a single break chance.
However, the 55 points he earned with his effort, is likely to make him India's number one singles player in the ATP ranking chart. He will overtake Somdev Devvarman, who is enduring a torrid time on the Tour since the last few months.
Yuki was gracious in his defeat today, praising Gabashvili, who had reached third rounds of Australian Open and US Open last year.
"It was tough. He served well and was very solid with his ground strokes. I did not have much of a shot against him today. He has been extraordinary in the last two weeks. It's not easy to win two back-to-back Challengers," he said.
"Sometimes, one can only applaud. He was no doubt better player today. But I would like to have another shot against him on the hard courts," he added.
