18-year-old 6th seed Manas Dhamne (IND, 393) opened his singles campaign at the $30,000 ITF M25 Malta tournament in Marsa with a clinical 6-3, 6-4 Round of 32 victory over Aleksa Ciric (SRB, 958) in 1 hour and 33 minutes on Wednesday, converting 6 of his 7 break-point opportunities (86%) to book a spot in Thursday’s Round of 16.
Clinical return game powers Dhamne past Ciric into Round of 16
Competing on the outdoor hard courts in Marsa, 6th seed Manas Dhamne (IND, 393) broke Aleksa Ciric (SRB, 958) in the 1st and 3rd games to surge to a 4-0 lead, fended off 5 break points in a marathon 8th game, and broke to love (40-0) in the 9th game to wrap up the 38-minute opening set 6-3. After Ciric broke in a 12-point 5th game of Set 2 to edge ahead 3-2, Dhamne responded immediately with another 40-0 love break for 3-3, saved a crucial break point at 30-40 in the 9th game, and converted his 2nd match point on return in the 10th game to seal the 6-3, 6-4 triumph after winning 73 of the 129 total points played. Earlier on Tuesday in the doubles Round of 16, Gilles Arnaud Bailly (BEL, UNR) and Manas Dhamne (IND, 1701) bowed out 1-6, 4-6 in 1 hour and 0 minutes against Matthew Howse (GBR, 819) and James MacKinlay (GBR, 222).
| Round | Match | Score | Match Breakdown |
|---|---|---|---|
| R32 (Singles) | [6] Manas Dhamne (IND, 393) def. Aleksa Ciric (SRB, 958) | 6-3, 6-4 | Converted 6/7 (86%) break points and won 73 of 129 total points across 1h 33m. |
| R16 (Doubles) | Matthew Howse (GBR, 819) / James MacKinlay (GBR, 222) def. Gilles Arnaud Bailly (BEL, UNR) / Manas Dhamne (IND, 1701) | 6-1, 6-4 | Saved 3/7 break points across 1h 00m in Tuesday’s opening round. |
After dropping a 12-point 5th game in Set 2 to trail 2-3, Dhamne immediately broke Ciric to love (40-0) in Game 6 to level at 3-3, then erased a 30-40 break point in Game 9 before breaking Ciric again in Game 10 for the 6-3, 6-4 win.
- 6/7 (86%) break points converted by Dhamne across the 19-game contest, including 2 love breaks at 40-0.
- 7/10 (70%) break points saved by the 18-year-old Indian, highlighted by 5 break points erased in Game 8 of Set 1.
- 73–56 advantage in total points won (56.6% of all 129 points played) in 1 hour and 33 minutes (Set 1: 38m, Set 2: 55m).
Next up: Round of 16 clash against Aleksandr Braynin
| Round | Match | Court | Scheduled Start Time (IST) |
|---|---|---|---|
| R16 | [6] Manas Dhamne (IND, 393) vs. Aleksandr Braynin (UKR, 792) | TBA (Marsa) | Thursday, Oct 29 · 2:30 PM IST (10:00 AM CET) |