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Tournament 3rd seed Saketh Myneni faced a few challenges from Australian Dane Propoggia before prevailing 6-4, 7-6 (9) to move into the last eight of the Air Asia Open, $50,000 Challenger event at the KSLTA on Wednesday.

In another match, fifth seed Yannick Mertens of Belgium staved off the challenge of Wild Card entrant, current Jr Wimbledon Doubles Champion, Sumit Nagal.

Top seed Adrian Menendez-Maceiras watched qualifier Prajnesh Gunneswaran of India take a set off him before he rallied back to move into the quarters with a hard fought 6-2, 3-6, 6-3 victory.

The match between Myneni and Propoggia saw the first set going the Indian’s way. Myneni broke the Australian in the 6th and 10th games after he was broken in the fifth to clinch the first set 6-2 in just 35 minutes.

However, the Aussie clawed back in telling fashion when he began to match the big servng Indian. Myneni broke Propoggia in the second game of the second set to gain the advantage.

But with the Aussie, ranked 443 in the world improving with every point, Myneni was broken in the seventh to take the games back with serves.

The ensuing tie-breaker turned out to be a humdinger with neither player wilting to the pressure that was building up.

However, the 166 ranked Myneni brought his experience to the fore, clinching the set and match with two points that stunned his rival.

The young Nagal was a pale shadow of himself when the contest began. His famed forehand failed to work for him and too many unforced errors saw the fifth seed breaking Nagal in the first and seventh games to race away with the first set 6-2.

Nagal was again broken in the first and third games as the Belgian raced away to a 4-0 lead in the second set. Nagal suddenly found his touch and form and began sending in winners.

The 18-year-old broke his higher ranked opponent in the 8th and 10th games before the tie-breaker was forced by the Belgian.

Here too, Nagal held his game together until the Belgian came up with that little extra effort to run away winner.

In the doubles competition, the Indo-American pair of Vijay Sundar Prashanth and Paul John Fruttero defeated Petros Chrysochos (Cyp) and Temur Ismailov (Uzb) 6-2, 6-2 to storm into the last four.

Joining them in the semi-final line-up was the third seeded pair of Ti Chen (Tpe) and Dane Propoggia (Aus) with a 7-6 (5), 6-4 victory against the Indian Wild card pair of Vishnu Vardhan and Sumit Nagal.

The second seeded Indian pair of Saketh Myneni and Sanam Singh demolished the Belarussian pair of Egor Gerasimov and Ilya Ivashka 7-6 (3); 6-1 to make it to the quarter-finals.