Britain’s Jay Clarke secured a momentous victory in India this morning. The 19 year-old made it through to his first Challenger semi-final after defeating Croatia’s Mate Pavic 6-2, 4-6, 7-6 in Bangalore India.
Clarke came out in the first set with a roaring start, breaking twice without reply to seal the set with ease. The more experienced Pavic came back in the second, edging a tight set by capitalising on his single break opportunity.
Both men broke in the third before the match reached a tie-break situation. That is where the match was won for Clarke. The teenager blew Pavic away by winning seven of eight points to seal a place in the last four.
Incredibly, Clarke could well be considered the favourite in his semi-final. He takes on Tsung-Hua Yang of Taiwan. Clarke’s ranking of No.279 compared to Yang’s No.295 means the Briton has a great chance to make it a first Challenger final.
Yang defeated Antoine Escoffier of France 6-4, 6-4. Yang has not had to face a seed so far in the tournament, as 2nd seed as Andres Menendez Maceiras suffered a shock first round exit to the No.682 player Borna Gojo, a qualifier from Croatia.
Should Clarke win against Yang he will increase his chances of moving inside the potential cut-off for entry into Australian Open Qualifying. Typically a ranking inside the Top 250 is enough to see players feature.
