Fresh from a disappointing first-round exit from the men’s singles draw at Roland Garros, India’s top-ranked player Yuki Bhambri got off to a winning start in his grass court campaign defeating Australia’s Thanasi Kokkinakis at the ATP Surbiton Challenger on Tuesday.
Seeded third, Bhmabri downed Kokkinakis 6-4 7-6 in the round of 32 encounter.
Also posting an impressive win in Surbiton was Ramkumar Ramanathan, who upset the second seed Jordan Thompson from Australia. Ramkumar won the first set 6-4 before the 91st ranked Aussie took the second 6-3. Ramkumar, ranked 30 places below Thompson, blitzed through the deciding set, winning it 6-1.
Bhambri faces Alex Bolt in the round of 16, while Ramkumar takes on the winner of Sergiy Stakhovsky and James Ward.
Bhmabri’s doubles campaign, however, came to an early end as he went out in the opening round, partnering Matthew Ebden, losing to second seeds Nicholas Monroe and John-Patrick Smith.
There was good news in the doubles section for Vishnu Vardhan and N Sriram Balaji as they defeated Nick Kyrgios and Jackson Withrow 7-6 (2), 3-6, 10-6. Ramkumar also progressed, paired with Jürgen Melzer, defeating Taylor Fritz and Mackenzie McDonald 6-7. 7-6, 10-6.
Earlier, Vishnu Vardhan, N Sriram Balaji and N Vijay Sundar Prashanth lost in the first qualifying round of men’s singles.
Wildcards Ruma, Saina in last eight
Elsewhere, wildcards Ruma Gaikaiwari and Saina Deshpande knocked out seeds to enter the girls singles quarterfinals of the MSLTA KPIT - Arun Wakankar Memorial ATF Asian under 14 Series Tennis Tournament in Pune on Tuesday.
In the girls second round, Ruma upset seventh seed Saumya Ronde 6-4,7-6(5), while Saina toppled eighth seed Kaashvi Thapliyal 6-2, 6-2 to enter the last eight.
In the boys section, fifth seed Daksh Agarwal struggled to get past Joshua Eapen 7-5,5-7,6-2, while Saharia came from loss of the opening set to survive against Ashwin Manikandan 4-6,7-5,6-2.
Top seed Shivam Kadam staved off a challenge from wild card Siddharth Marathe 6-7(4),6-2,6-0 to make it to the last eight stage.
The results:
Boys Under 14 (2nd round):
Shivam Kadam(IND)(1) bt (WC)Siddharth Marathe (IND)6-7(4),6-2,6-0;
Daksh Agarwal (IND)(5) bt (Q)Joshua Eapen (IND)7-5,5-7,6-2;
Anargha Ganguly (IND)(3) bt Ishan Jigali (IND)6-2,6-2;
Manuel Josh(GBR)(6) bt Ananmay Upadhyay (IND)6-2,6-1;
Manas Dhamne (IND) bt Samar Malhotra(IND)6-0, 6-3;
Nithis Nallusamy (IND)(4) bt Pranav Gadgil (IND)6-1, 6-1;
Omaansh Saharia (IND) bt Ashwin Manikandan (IND)4-6,7-5,6-2;
Krishang Raghuvanshi (IND)(2) bt Varshith Kumar Marreddy (IND)6-0,7-5.
Girls under 14 (2nd round):
Pari Singh(IND)(1) bt (WC) Kashish Bote (IND)6-3, 7-5;
Ruma Gaikaiwari (IND) bt Saumya Ronde (IND)(7) 6-4,7-6(5);
Shruti Ahlawat (IND)(3) btShrwani Khawale (IND) 6-1,6-1;
Abinaya Sweeton(CAN)(6) bt Shubhangee Laxmi Shah(NEP)6-1, 6-1;
Nandini Dixit(IND)(5) bt Gautami Khaire (IND)6-4, 6-2;
(WC) Saina Deshpande (USA) bt Kaashvi Thapliyal (IND)(8) 6-2, 6-2;
Veda Prapurna (IND)(4) bt Anya Jecob (IND)6-3, 6-4;
Sonal Patil(IND) bt Rijul Sidnale (IND)7-6(6), 6-4.
Limited-time offer: Big stories, small price. Keep independent media alive. Become a Scroll member today!
Our journalism is for everyone. But you can get special privileges by buying an annual Scroll Membership. Sign up today!