Ranzi Sports

CHENNAI: In a remarkable display of talent, India’s Chirag Duhan, Siddharth Vishwakarma, and Manish Sureshkumar eliminated seeded competitors in the opening round of qualifying at the Chennai Open ATP Challenger, held at the SDAT Tennis Stadium on Sunday.

Chirag Duhan, 21 years old and currently ranked No. 962 globally, achieved a significant upset by defeating third seed Evgenii Tiurnev, who is ranked over 600 places higher, in straight sets with scores of 6-4, 6-2. Meanwhile, 30-year-old Siddharth Vishwakarma, ranked No. 771, triumphed over eighth seed Dominik Palan, who holds a world ranking of No. 537, with a convincing score of 6-3, 6-1.

Manish Sureshkumar further contributed to the success of Indian tennis by overcoming 12th seed Luca Castelnuovo with a scoreline of 7-6, 6-4. In another all-Indian matchup, 10th seed Dev Javia secured his place in the second and final round of qualifying by defeating Keerthivassan Suresh 6-4, 6-2.

Sidharth Rawat put up a strong fight, coming back from a set and 5-2 down against fifth seed Eric Vanshelboim, but ultimately lost in three sets, finishing at 6-4, 5-7, 6-3.

Top seed Sascha Gueymard Wayenburg and second seed Kimmer Coppejans also progressed to the second and final round of qualifying. This final round will take place on Monday, alongside several main draw matches.

Notable players such as Ramkumar Ramanathan, Sasikumar Mukund, and Karan Singh will participate in the main draw after being awarded wildcard entries.

The Chennai Open marks the beginning of a series of ATP Challenger events scheduled to take place in India, with upcoming tournaments set for Delhi, Pune, and Bengaluru. Admission for spectators is complimentary.