Pune, Feb 7 (PTI) Jiri Vesely and second seed Ricardas Berankis stormed into the single semifinals of the ATP Tata Open Maharashtra after scoring come-from-behind victories here on Friday.

Czech player Vesely eked out a sensational 2-6 6-1 7-6 (11) victory over Ilya Ivashka of Belarus while Berankis of Lithuania recovered well after the first set setback to register 4-6 7-6 (4) 6-2 victory against Japan's Yuichi Sugita in another hard-fought quarter-final.

"It was a very close match. I think I was definitely lucky. I felt he deserved it more than I do at the end of the match. We both were very nervous," Vesely said after the match.

India's only hope for the title, the in-form pair of Ramkumar Ramanathan and Purav Raja will face third seed Jonathan Erich and Andrei Vasilevski in the semifinals on Saturday.

The duo entered last-four with a commanding 6-2 6-1 win over Leander Paes and Matthew Ebden on Thursday.

Meanwhile, Andre Goransson and Christopher Rungkat overcame Romain Arneodo and Andre Begemann 6-4, 7-6 (7-1) in the first doubles semi-finals.

Results:

Singles quarterfinals: Jiri Vesely (CZE) bt Ilya Ivashka (BLR) 2-6 6-1 7-6 (11); Ricardas Berankis (LTU) bt Yuichi Sugita (JPN) 4-6 7-6 (4) 6-2.

Doubles semi-finals: Andre Goransson and Christopher Rungkat bt Romain Arneodo and Andre Begemann 6-4 7-6 (7-1). PTI

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)