Despite getting entry into the main draw at the eleventh hour, N. Sriram Balaji was up to the task, defeating Egyptian Davis Cupper Karim-Mohamed Maamoun 6-4, 6-2 in the first round of the KPIT-MSLTA $50,000 Challenger at the Mhalunge-Balewadi Sports Complex on Monday.
Saketh Myneni, another wild-card entrant, displayed remarkable temperament to oust Bosnia’s Tomislav Brkic in a pulsating match that lasted an hour and a half. The Bosnian big hitter was erratic and lost 6-3, 4-6, 6-2.
Drawn to play the first Centre Court match of the tournament, Balaji was shaky initially, dropping the fifth game on a double fault. But he upped his game, playing near-flawless tennis. Once he took control of his first serves and the double-fisted back-hands, he looked the champion.
Looking quite pleased with his first win post rehab, Balaji said: “I really served well today; except the double fault in the first set. My opponent’s first serve percentage was not great and I took advantage of that.
“Rankings are just numbers. I was injured for the last three months. The last tournament I played was in August. I had a ligament related ankle injury. I was comfortable with my game today. Pune’s altitude is good and it’s good for me as well.
“I came here last Wednesday and practised for four-five days, but my opponent came two days back. And so he didn’t have enough practice.’’
Vijay Sundar Prashanth was beaten soundly by Croatian Borna Gojo in the final qualifying round, but he advanced to the first round as a lucky loser.
Vijay Sundar will play Aryan Goveas, a recipient of a wild-card, in the first round.
In the last first round match played at the Centre Court, Prajnesh Gunneswaran lost to 25-year-old American Evan King 6-3, 6-3. Prajnesh was a losing finalist here last year.
The Indian had beaten King 6-2,6-4 in the US Tiburan Challenger in September.
The results (first round):
N. Sriram Balaji bt Karim-Mohamed Maamoun (Egy) 6-4, 6-2; Aleksandr Nedovyesov (Kaz) bt Vishnu Vardhan 6-3, 4-6, 7-6(6); Saketh Myneni bt Tomislav Brkic (BIH) 6-3, 4-6, 6-2; Jay Clarke (GBr) bt Mario Martinez (Esp) 3-6, 6-4, 6-4; Evan King (US) bt Prajnesh Gunneswaran 6-3, 6-3.
Qualifying (final round): Kaichi Uchida (Jpn) bt Alexei Popyrin (Aus) 6-4,6-2; Borna Gojo (Cro) bt Vijay Sundar Prashanth (Ind) 6-1, 6-2; Antione Escoffier (Fra) bt Sidharth Rawat 6-2, 6-3; Hugo Grenier (Fra) bt Timur Khabibulin (Kaz) 6-2, 6-2.
