The best of the Indian players, led by the top-seeded Yuki Bhambri, compete in the $10,000 ITF men’s Futures tennis tournament at the DLTA Complex here from Monday.
After having won the title in the $50,000 Challenger in Australia last week, it should be a warm-up exercise for the 21-year-old Yuki Bhambri ahead of the Australian Open wild card event scheduled in China next week. The World No.204 will open against Shonigmatjon Shofayziyev of Uzbekistan.
The presence of other leading players like Jeevan Nedunchezhiyan, Sriram Balaji, Vijayant Malik, V.M. Ranjeet, Karunuday Singh, Vishnu Vardhan, R. Ramkumar, P.C. Vignesh, Akash Wagh, Ashwin Vijayaragavan and Vijay Sundar Prashanth, who have been playing around the world in similar competitions, should make it a lively affair.
The newly crowned national champion Mohit Mayur will face a test of fire as he opens the campaign against the seventh-seeded Karunuday Singh. And the national runner-up for the second time, wild card Arjun Kadhe will be up against the Asian Youth Games bronze medallist Garvit Batra who comfortably negotiated the qualifying event.
The seedings: 1. Yuki Bhambri, 2. Jeevan Nedunchezhiyan, 3. Sriram Balaji, 4. Vijayant Malik, 5. Torsten Wietoska (Ger), 6. V.M. Ranjeet, 7. Karunuday Singh, 8. Daniiar Duldaev (Kgz).
The results (qualifying event, third and final round): Lakshit Sood bt Amrit Narasimhan 6-4, 7-5; Warit Sornbutnark (Tha) bt Timur Khabibulin (Kaz) 6-2, 3-6, 6-3; Timon Reichelt (Ger) bt Kelsey Stevenson (Can) 3-6, 6-4, 6-1; Akash Wagh bt Rakshit Rishi 6-3, 6-2.
Garvit Batra bt Sagar Ahuja 6-1, 6-0; Jannis Liniger (Sui) bt Mukund Sasikumar 6-2, 2-6, 6-2; Shaikh Abdullah bt chandril Sood 6-2, 5-7, 6-1; Ronak Manuja bt Elwin Antony 6-1, 6-1.
Second round: Amrit Narasimhan bt Medhir Goyal 6-1, 6-1; Lakshit Sood bt Gurvinder Mann 6-2, 6-4.
Warit Sornbutnark (Tha) bt Neishit Vakil 6-0, 6-0; Timur Khabibulin (Kaz) bt Sagadat Ayap (Kaz) 6-3, 7-5; Timon Reichelt (Ger) bt Ronit Singh Bisht 6-3, 0-6, 6-4; Kelsey Stevenson (Can) bt V. Vignesh 6-4, 5-7, 6-3.
; Rakshit Rishi bt Suraj Beniwal 7-5, 7-5; Akash Wagh bt Arpit Sharma 6-3, 6-1; Sagar Ahuja bt Shahbaaz Khan 6-2, 6-2; Garvit Batra bt Nail Khabiyev (US) 6-2, 6-4; Mukund Sasikumar bt Abhijeet Tiwari 7-5, 7-6(0).
Jannis Liniger (Sui) bt Saurabh Singh 0-6, 6-1, 6-4; Chandril Sood bt Ankit Sachdeva 6-4, 6-0; Shaikh Abdullah bt Ajay Yadav 7-6(2), 6-1; Ronak Manuja bt Ishaan Saigal 6-4, 7-6(6); Elwin Antony bt Chinmay Pradhan 6-4, 6-1.
