Ranzi Sports

Bengaluru, February 24, 2025: Karan Singh secured his position in the main draw of the DafaNews Bengaluru Open singles tournament by achieving a hard-fought victory over Aryan Shah, with scores of 6-4, 7-6(6) in an all-Indian second-round match during the Qualifying event at the KSLTA Courts on Monday. Singh, who recently made his Davis Cup debut for India in the World Group I Playoffs against Togo, exhibited remarkable composure during a tense tiebreak in the second set, concluding the match against his skilled compatriot in one hour and 15 minutes.

Reflecting on his victory over Shah and his qualification for the main draw, Singh remarked: “I focused on holding my serve while applying pressure on his. Aryan served exceptionally well. In the tiebreak, I had several opportunities, but he responded strongly. At 7-6, he double-faulted, which turned the match in my favor. It feels wonderful to qualify, especially here in India, in front of such an enthusiastic crowd. I am eager to compete in the main draw matches.”

The final round of qualifying also witnessed a notable upset, as top seed and Delhi Open finalist Billy Harris was eliminated after a 6-7 (4), 4-6 loss to Petr Bar Biryukov.

In contrast, second seed Ilia Simakin advanced effortlessly, defeating Japan’s Kokoro Isomura in just 48 minutes with a score of 6-1, 6-1.

India’s Mukund Sasikumar was unable to join Singh in the main draw, succumbing to Czech Republic’s Hynek Barton in a challenging match that ended 6-2, 4-6, 6-4.

Meanwhile, Spain’s Nicolas Alvarez Varona claimed his place with a 6-3, 3-6, 6-3 victory over Hiroki Moriya.

With the main draw finalized, Karan Singh is set to compete against Austria’s Jurij Rodionov in the opening round. His Davis Cup teammate, Ramkumar Ramanathan, faces a formidable challenge in his first match against seventh seed Shintaro Mochizuki from Japan, while the young player Manas Dhamne will go up against Biryukov.

In the initial results from the Round of 32 in the main draw, Colombia’s Nicolas Mejia delivered a surprising performance by defeating fourth seed Elmer Moller with scores of 6-3, 6-4.

Additionally, Japan’s Rio Noguchi progressed with a victory of 7-5, 6-2 over Justin Engel. Wild card SD Prajwal Dev was eliminated in the first round following a three-set defeat to Marek Gengel,

while Blake Ellis advanced after a closely contested match, winning 6-7(2), 6-4, 7-6(6) against Michael Geerts.