Thailand Open 2021 Results: Sameer Verma, Mixed Doubles Pair of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy-Ashwini Ponnappa Advance Into Quarterfinals

This was Sameer's third victory over Gemke. The Indian had defeated the world number 17 Danish player in their previous two clashes.

India’s Sameer Verma continued his dominant form as he stormed into the men’s singles quarterfinals of the Toyota Thailand Open Super 1000 tournament on Thursday. Sameer steamrolled Rasmus Gemke of Denmark in straight games to register a comfortable second-round win in Bangkok. The world number 31 Indian needed just 39 minutes to see off Gemke 21-12, 21-9.

From the very start, Sameer took control of the proceedings and dictated his terms over Gemke. Inside 20 minutes, the 26-year-old took the opening game and never looked back. Coming off from a win over eighth seed Lee Zii Jia of Malaysia in the first round, Sameer raised the level of his game a notch higher and sealed the match in the second game 21-9 to advance into the last eight.

This was Sameer’s third victory over Gemke. The Indian had defeated the world number 17 Danish player in their previous two clashes. Sameer will face third seed Anders Antonsen of Denmark, who received a walkover, in the quarterfinals.

“I was very confident before the match. I came prepared. Next up I have Anders Antonsen from Denmark. I’m feeling very confident, so let’s see. It will be tough but I will play my best,” Sameer said.

🇮🇳 XD pair- @satwiksairaj & @P9Ashwini secured their berth in the QF after packing 🇩🇪’s Mark & Isable in the R2️⃣ of #ToyotaThailandOpen2021 .

Final score: 22-20, 14-21, 21-16

Well done, champs! 💪 🔥 #ToyotaThailandOpen2021 #thailandOpen #ThailandOpenSuper1000 pic.twitter.com/X2dzG9WB2r

— BAI Media (@BAI_Media) January 21, 2021

In other matches, India’s top mixed doubles pairing of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Ashwini Ponnappa also sailed into the quarterfinals with a hard fought 22-20, 14-21, 21-16 win over the German duo of Mark Lamsfuss and Isabel Herttrich in a match that lasted close to an hour.

In the first game, the Indian pair banked on their powerful strokes from the baseline that helped them to edge their opponents with a scoreline of 22-20.

However, the Germans came out all guns blazing in the second game and punished Indians for their complacency. They took the game 21-14 to force a decider.

In the decider, Mark and Isabel took a mid-interval lead but Rankireddy and Ashwini regrouped well to register a 21-16 win and keep their campaign alive in the tournament.

(With PTI Inputs)