Maha Open: Sumit Nagal, Manas Dhamne Lead Indian Charge in Pune

(MENAFN- AsiaNet News)

Nagal, Dhamne Lead Indian Charge

India’s top-ranked tennis star Sumit Nagal delivered a commanding performance while local teenager and the country’s rising star Manas Dhamne showcased nerves of steel to lead the Indian charge in the Maha Open ATP Challenger 75 Men’s Tennis Championship at Balewadi Stadium on Tuesday, according to a release. Nagal thrilled a lively home crowd with a clinical 6-1, 6-2 victory over seventh seed Rio Noguchi of Japan, securing victory in an hour and 9 minutes, dictating play from the baseline and sealing the match in straight sets. The Indian No.1 looked sharp in all departments, breaking serve consistently to comfortably advance to the second round.

Local boy Dhamne, who secured a spot in the main draw through a wildcard, continued his impressive progress on the Challenger circuit, defeating last week’s Delhi Challenger winner Stefanos Sakellaridis of Greece 6-4, 7-6(4). The Pune teen, ranked 489, displayed maturity beyond his years, holding his nerve in a tight second-set tiebreak to secure a memorable win over the 220-ranked, 21-year-old Greek.

Other First-Round Highlights

Elsewhere, eighth seed Edas Butvilas of Lithuania gave a lesson in tennis by outclassing local Indian wildcard Aditya Balsekar 6-0, 6-1. Meanwhile, Indian entrant Karan Singh was defeated by qualifier Maks Kasnikowski (POL) 6-3, 6-1.

The third seed, Ilia Simakin of Russia, edged past qualifier Mitsuki Wei Kang Leong of Malaysia, winning 4-6, 6-2, 7-6(10) in a closely fought match lasting 2 hours and 24 minutes.

Sixth seed Federico Cina from Italy registered a dominant 6-1, 6-0 win over Japanese qualifier Takuya Kumasaka.

Britain’s Felix Gill staged a remarkable comeback to defeat Belgian Michael Geerts 1-6, 7-6(9), 6-4, and fifth seed Frederico Ferreira Silva of Portugal advanced to the next round with a 6-3, 6-4 victory over Petr Bar Biryukov.

Qualifier Tung-Lin Wu of Chinese Taipei continued his good run, defeating lucky loser Alexander Binda of Italy 6-1, 6-2.

Dhamne’s Next Challenge

In the second round to be played on Wednesday, Dhamne will face former world No. 40 Illya Ivashka at 2 PM IST.

Maha Open: Full Results

Results: Main Draw: First Round: Singles: Edas Butvilas 8 defeated [Wc] Aditya Balsekar (Ind) 6-0, 6-1; Federico Cina [6] (Ita) defeated [Q] Takuya Kumasaka (Jpn) 6-1, 6-0; Felix Gill (Gbr) defeated Michael Geerts (Bel) 1-6, 7-6(9), 6-4; Frederico Ferreira Silva [5] (Por) defeated Petr Bar Biryukov 6-3, 6-4; [Q] Tung-Lin Wu (Tpe) defeated [LL] Alexander Binda (Ita) 6-1, 6-2; Ilia Simakin [3] defeated [Q] Mitsuki Wei Kang Leong (Mas) 4-6, 6-2, 7-6(10); Sumit Nagal (Ind) defeated Rio Noguchi 7 6-1, 6-2; [Wc] Manas Dhamne (Ind) defeated Stefanos Sakellaridis (Gre) 6-4, 7-6(4); Oliver Crawford 4 defeated Tsung-Hao Huang (Tpe) 6-2, 4-6, 6-0; [Q] Maks Kasnikowski (Pol) defeated [Wc] Karan Singh (Ind) 6-3, 6-1; [Q] Masamichi Imamura (Jpn) defeated David Jorda Sanchis (Esp) 7-6(8), 6-4; Doubles: Yuta Shimizu (Jpn)/ Seita Watanabe 3 defeated S D Prajwal Dev (Ind)/ Nitin Kumar Sinha (Ind) 6-4, 7-6(2).

The Maha Open ATP Challenger 75 Men’s Tennis Championship is organized by Maharashtra State Lawn Tennis Association (MSLTA) in partnership with the Department of Sports and Youth Services, Govt of Maharashtra, PCMC, PMC, and PMDTA, and sponsored by Pune Metropolitan Regional Development Authority (PMRDA).

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