Divij, Purav bow out of Kunming Challenger

Divij Sharan and Purav Raja overcame a wobbly start to put up a good fight but eventually lost the semifinals of the $125,000 ATP Challenger tournament to Samuel Groth and John-Patrick Smith in Kunming.

The third seeded Indian pair lost 2-6, 6-7(5) to the second seeded Australian pair. The Indians split $2700 as prize money and earned 40 ranking points each.

As Purav was troubled by a neck problem, the Indian team could not play to its potential against formidable rivals.

They were down 0-5 in the first set but avoided being bageled by holding serve in the sixth game. They even broke the Australians in the seventh game but it was too late.

In the second set, Divij and Purav put up a much better show, stretching the issue to a tie-breaker but could not prevail over the opponents.

Sam Groth holds the record for the fastest serve 263 kmph in 2012.