18-year-old 6th seed Manas Dhamne (IND, 393) saw his singles campaign at the $30,000 ITF M25 Malta tournament in Marsa end in the Round of 16 on Thursday, falling 3-6, 4-6 to Aleksandr Braynin (UKR, 792) in 1 hour and 34 minutes on the outdoor hard courts at the Marsa Sports Club.
Missed 15-40 break opportunities in Set 2 prove decisive in Marsa
Coming off a clinical 6-3, 6-4 opening-round victory over Aleksa Ciric (SRB, 958) on Wednesday in which he converted 6 of 7 break points, 6th seed Manas Dhamne (IND, 393) fell behind 0-4 in Thursday’s opening set against Aleksandr Braynin (UKR, 792) before staging a spirited fightback—breaking to love (40-0) in Game 5, breaking again on his 3rd chance in a deuce 7th game, and holding to love in Game 8 to close within 3-5 before Braynin served out the 45-minute opener 6-3.
Dhamne settled into a groove on serve to open the 49-minute 2nd set, holding in Game 1 and Game 3 for a 2-1 lead before earning 2 break points at 15-40 on Braynin’s serve in Game 4 to move within a point of a 3-1 cushion. However, Braynin reeled off 4 consecutive points from 15-40 to hold for 2-2, then broke Dhamne at 15-40 in Game 7 for a 4-3 advantage and converted his 1st match point at 40-15 in Game 10 to close out the 6-3, 6-4 win.
| Round | Match | Score | Match Breakdown |
|---|---|---|---|
| R16 | Aleksandr Braynin (UKR, 792) def. [6] Manas Dhamne (IND, 393) | 6-3, 6-4 | Dhamne converted 2 of 7 break points across 1 hour and 34 minutes. |
| R32 | [6] Manas Dhamne (IND, 393) def. Aleksa Ciric (SRB, 958) | 6-3, 6-4 | Converted 6 of 7 (86%) break points in 1 hour and 33 minutes. |
Leading 2-1 in Set 2, Dhamne surged to 15-40 on Braynin’s serve with 2 break points for a 3-1 lead, but Braynin saved both chances to level at 2-2 before breaking Dhamne at 15-40 in Game 7 for the decisive break of the 2nd set.
- 2 of 7 (29%) break points converted by Dhamne (both in Set 1), compared to 4 of 5 (80%) converted by Braynin.
- 0 of 2 break points converted by Dhamne in Set 2 after holding 15-40 in the 4th game at 2-1 up.
- 51 of 112 total points won by Dhamne (24–28 in Set 1; 27–33 in Set 2) across 1 hour and 34 minutes (Set 1: 45m, Set 2: 49m).