Bengaluru, May 19: Indian players produced a memorable opening day at the SM Krishna Memorial Open, led by wild card Manish Sureshkumar’s stunning first-round upset over top seed and recently crowned Karnataka Open champion Keegan Smith (USA). Manish, 26, defeated the World No. 245 and tournament favourite 6-4, 2-6, 6-2 in one hour and 46 minutes to register arguably the biggest win of the tournament so far.

Manish, ranked 737 in the world and fresh off his maiden Challenger quarterfinal appearance last week, looked increasingly comfortable competing at a higher level.

“Last week was my first Challenger quarter-final. I’m kind of getting used to the level now, because the pace is kind of different,” said Manish after the victory.

Despite Keegan firing 11 aces, the American struggled with consistency, committing 41 unforced errors compared to Manish’s 22. The Indian absorbed pressure intelligently and played with freedom against the top seed.

“I think he had the pressure, not me, because I was kind of the underdog. So, I decided that I’m going to go out there and play freely, you know, go for my shots and try to compete, and not give away easy points,” Manish added.

Manish broke in the third game of the opening set before Keegan briefly restored parity. Another timely break in the ninth game helped the Indian claim the set 6-4. The American bounced back strongly in the second set with two breaks of serve to level the match.

However, the decider belonged entirely to Manish’s grit and tactical discipline. Facing 15-40 in the opening game, he fought back to earn an early break and seize momentum. Another break in the seventh game put him firmly in control before he completed the upset over the player who had looked nearly untouchable through last week’s Karnataka Open campaign.

India enjoyed more success through Sidharth Rawat, who produced a composed display to defeat Omar Jasika (Australia) 7-6(4), 6-3. Rawat edged a tightly contested opening-set tiebreak before raising his level in the second set to close out the match in straight sets.

Experienced campaigner Mukund Sasikumar also progressed after surviving a stern challenge from eighth seed Maximus Jones (Thailand) 7-6 (5), 7-6 (5) in a two-hour and 17-minute battle. Mukund repeatedly recovered from difficult situations and showed superior composure in both tiebreaks to advance.

Promising local wild card Kriish Tyagi continued his impressive run with a 7-6 (8), 7-6 (4) victory over Kuan-Yi Lee (Chinese Taipei). The youngster showed remarkable temperament, saving a set point at 5-6 in the opening set before prevailing in a dramatic tiebreak. He backed it up by winning another breaker in the second set.

Another Indian wild card, Aditya Vishal Balsekar, pushed third seed Hamish Stewart (Great Britain) to the brink before bowing out 6-4, 6-7 (2), 6-4 in a gruelling two-hour and 36-minute contest. Balsekar’s spirited fightback to force a decider after dominating the second-set tiebreak nearly produced another upset, but Stewart eventually held firm to survive the scare.

Indian hopes, however, ended for Aradhya Kshitij, who lost to second seed Alastair Gray (Great Britain), while Karan Singh, Prajwal Dev, Digvijaypratap Singh and lucky loser Nitin Kumar Sinha exited the tournament.

Earlier, the draw had already opened up after fifth seed Philip Sekulic (Australia) withdrew due to a lower back injury, handing Nitin Kumar Sinha an entry into the main draw as a lucky loser.

Results – Men’s singles

Round of 32 (Seedings in prefix)

2-Alastair Gray (GBR) bt Q-Aradhya Kshitij (IND) 6-1, 6-2;

Leo Vithoontien (JPN) bt Digvijaypratap Singh (IND) 6-3, 6-4;

4-Petr Bar Biryukov bt Q-Christopher Papa (USA) 6-2, 6-2;

Yusuke Takahashi (JPN) bt Ryuki Matsuda (JPN) 6-4, 6-2;

Dominik Palan (CZE) bt Kokoro Isomura (JPN) 6-4, 3-6, 6-3;

Mitsuki Wei Kang Leong (MAS) bt 7-Karan Singh (IND) 5-7, 6-3, 6-2;

Alex Hernandez (MEX) bt Q-Grigoriy Lomakin (KAZ) 6-4 7-6 (6);

Mukund Sasikumar (IND) bt 8-Maximus Jones (THA) 7-6 (5), 7-6 (5) (2hrs 17 mins)

Q-Taiyo Yamanaka (JPN) bt Takuya Kumasaka (JPN) 7-6 (4), 4-6, 7-6 (5) (3 hrs 10 mins 30 secs);

3-Hamish Stewart (GBR) bt WC-Aditya Vishal Balsekar (IND) 6-4, 6-7 (2), 6-4;

WC-Kriish Tyagi (IND) bt Kuan-Yi Lee (TPE) 7-6 (8), 7-6 (4);

Ilya Ivashka bt SD Prajwal Dev (IND) 6-3, 6-2;

WC-Manish Sureshkumar (IND) bt 1-Keegan Smith (USA) 6-4, 2-6, 6-2;

Omar Jasika (AUS) Vs Sidharth Rawat (IND) 6-7 (4), 6-2;

Q-Naoya Honda (JPN) bt LL-Nitin Kumar Sinha (IND) 6-4, 6-1;

6-Ognjen Milic (SRB) Vs. Q-Thanapet Chanta (THA) 6-4, 3-2 (match in progress)

Pics Credit – Deepthi Indukuri / KSLTA

1.      Sidharth Rawat

2.      Manish Suresh Kumar

3.      Kriish Tyagi

4.      Manish Sureshkumar and Keegan Smith

5.      Mukund Sasikumar