Saketh Myneni was unable to capitalise on a good start and was beaten 3-6, 6-1, 6-3 by Max Purcell of Australia in the first round of the $162,480 Challenger tennis tournament here on Monday.
Second seed Prajnesh Gunneswaran has a bye in the first round, while Sasi Kumar Mukund will play Goncalo Oliveira of Portugal.
The doubles field has Sriram Balaji, Vishnu Vardhan and Jeevan Nedunchezhiyan, apart from Vijay Sundar Prashanth. Saketh is paired with Jeevan, while Prashanth has partnered the Aussie, Bernard Tomic.
The results: $162,480 Challenger, Kaohsiung: (first round): Max Purcell (Aus) bt Saketh Myneni 3-6, 6-1, 6-3 .
