Indian tennis player Manish Sureshkumar had a strong showing at the ITF M15 Monastir event in Tunisia. The 24-year-old from Chennai made a solid run to the semifinals of the clay court tournament, right on the heels of a semifinals appearance in the previous week.
In the opening round, Sureshkumar defeated Austria’s Paul Ender 6-1, 6-2. He then pulled off an upset over the third seed Amr Elsayed of Egypt, winning 6-2, 6-2 to reach the quarterfinals. Sureshkumar carried his good form into the next match, beating France’s Alexandre Reco by an identical 6-2, 6-2 scoreline.
However, Sureshkumar’s run came to an end in the semifinals against top seed Kris van Wyk of South Africa. The experienced van Wyk proved too strong, defeating the Indian 6-3, 6-3.
While unable to claim the title, Manish Sureshkumar’s performance was an encouraging one at this level of event. The semifinal showing should give him confidence moving forward on the ITF pro circuit. With some more experience under his belt, better results may well follow for the promising Indian youngster.