CHENNAI: The India contingent had a good day with
Sumit Nagal
and
Sasikumar Mukund
notching up opening round victories in the ATP Chennai Open Challenger here at the
SDAT Tennis Stadium
on Tuesday. Second-seed
Nagal
did not have to sweat much as he cruised into the pre-quarterfinals by getting the better of compatriot
Prajwal
Dev 6-1, 6-2.
Sumit, ranked 350 plus places higher than Dev, started with an easy service game and backed it up breaking Prajwal in the second. Nagal played to his strengths, maneuvering the angles by connecting cross-court forehand shots. In the second game, a forehand down the line helped Nagal gain momentum.
Meanwhile, Prajwal botched up his first service percentage, allowing Nagal to score points easily on the second return. Nagal took advantage and scored 79 % points off the same. At 4-0, Nagal faced the first real test as he had to save a break point. Prajwal squandered and allowed Nagal to save a break point. The higher ranked p layer went on to win two successive points with the last point coming from the advantage court.
In the second set, Nagal drew first blood by winning the opening game. Prajwal started to show aggression and played the long rallies. This helped him hold his service 1-2 and further broke the world No.121 for the first time in the match, levelling the set. In the fifth game, a simple volley would have been enough for Prajwal to take a game's lead. But with the lack of experience, Prajwal played the ball straight back at Nagal from near court who was smart to place the ball wide of Prajwal to win a point.
Unlike the opening set, Prajwal improved his footwork which was evident in the early part of the set. Post the opening round win, Nagal said, "It was a good encounter, and I played a solid match throughout the two sets. Prajwal was the only Indian to progress from the qualifiers and it was unfortunate that I ended up playing against him in the first round. But this is part of the sport."
Later in the day, Sasikumar rallied to win a marathon 2 hours and 25-minute encounter against higher ranked
Maks Kasnikowski
of Poland 6-3, 4-6, 7-5.
Ramkumar goes down in straight sets:
Ramkumar Ramanathan
lost to
Roca Batalla
of Spain 6-7 (3), 2-6 in the opening round. Ramanthan and Batalla held on to their respective service games till the 12th game to enforce a tie-breaker. It was Batalla who got the mini-break early in the tie-breaker and built on that. The second set was a one-sided affair as the Spanish surged ahead to win the match in straight sets.
Tomic through to 2nd round: Australia's
Bernard Tomic
came back from 3-5 in the decider to win the opening round against Olaf Pieczkowski of Poland 2-6, 6-4, 7-6 (2).
English (US) ·