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He had himself called it a daunting task to be facing former Davis Cupper Karan Rastogi, but little did Yuki Bhambri know what lay in store for him in the quarter- final of the ITF Futures here on Thursday.

Trailing by a set but leading 3- 0 in the second set, Yuki turned his right ankle while stretching for a forehand cross- court shot, and eventually had to retire and hand Rastogi his second successive semi- final berth, after having made the final in Kolkata last week.

As soon as he fell down, Yuki clutched his ankle and winced in pain, which brought the doctor scurrying out from the tournament referee’s office. Soon, the chair umpire joined him in trying to help Yuki up to his feet, while a concerned Rastogi also came across the net to check on his 17- year- old opponent’s health. Even about 45 minutes after the injury, while leaving the stadium for a scan, Yuki was not able to walk unsupported.

Rastogi, who has only recently recovered from a long injury layoff, said, “ This is definitely not the way I would have wanted to reach the semi- finals. I would have definitely wanted to play the whole match because after losing the first set, he was definitely coming back strongly and we could’ve had a great fight in the remaining match.” It was Rastogi who dominated the early exchange as Yuki looked rather slow off the blocks. A break in the second game helped the experienced campaigner take a 3- 0 lead as he eventually took the set 6- 3.

But the high of taking the first set seemed to work against Rastogi, as he looked distinctly offcolour in the opening games of the second set. Yuki raced to a 3- 0 lead, but the winner that gave him a 15- 0 lead in the fourth game turned out to be the last shot he played in the tournament.

In the semi- finals, Rastogi will face China’s Yu Chang, who got past Taipei’s Liang- Chi Huang 3- 6, 6- 1, 6- 1.