Ranzi Sports

Bengaluru, May 21: India’s journey in the men’s singles at the SM Krishna Memorial Open concluded, but not before Mukund Sasikumar delivered an impressive performance against second seed Alastair Gray from Great Britain in a quarterfinal match that lasted two hours and 40 minutes at the SM Krishna Stadium on Thursday.

The 29-year-old from Chennai, who is ranked 536 in the world, challenged the higher-ranked Gray (World No. 287) to the limit before ultimately succumbing 2-6, 7-5, 7-6(3) in one of the tournament’s most thrilling encounters.

In other news, former World No. 40 Ilya Ivashka maintained his strong form, easily defeating Alex Hernandez from Mexico 6-1, 6-2 in just 72 minutes to advance to the semifinals, while third seed Hamish Stewart of Great Britain was equally efficient, needing only 57 minutes to overcome sixth seed Ognjen Milic from Serbia 6-2, 6-1.

Fourth seed Petr Bar Biryukov triumphed over Malaysia’s Mitsuki Wei Kang Leong 6-2, 5-7, 6-3 to finalize the semifinal lineup.

In a positive turn for India, Mukund later teamed up with Adil Kalyanpur to upset the fourth-seeded Japanese duo of Kokoro Isomura and Ryuki Matsuda 6-3, 7-6 (4), securing a spot in the men’s doubles semifinals. The pair of Niki Kaliyanda Poonacha and Saketh Myneni also advanced, defeating another Japanese team, Tomohiro Masabayashi and Leo Vithoontien, 7-6 (5), 6-4 to reach the final four.

Mukund’s performance was characterized by tenacity and bold shot-making, as he recorded 14 aces—five more than Gray—and made fewer double faults despite enduring continuous pressure. The Indian consistently fought his way back into the match and was close to securing a semifinal position.

Gray took an early lead, capitalizing on three breaks of serve in the first set to win it 6-2, even though Mukund managed to break in the second game. The Briton seemed to be in control, leveraging his higher ranking and consistency to dictate the match.

However, Mukund significantly elevated his performance in the second set. After securing a break in the fourth game, the Indian appeared ready to push for a decisive set before Gray managed to break back in the ninth. With the set delicately poised at 5-5, Mukund remained resolute and then made a decisive move in the 12th game, breaking Gray to win the set 7-5, thereby igniting hopes among the home supporters.

The final set transformed into a thrilling contest. Gray achieved a vital break in the ninth game and seemed poised to conclude the match. However, Mukund demonstrated extraordinary resilience, saving a match point before breaking back in the 10th game. Gaining momentum, the Indian then held serve at love in the 11th, shifting the pressure back onto Gray. With neither competitor yielding any ground, the match progressed into a tiebreak.

The Briton quickly took control, starting with an early mini-break and maintaining his lead to clinch the match, thus denying Mukund what could have been a remarkable semifinal appearance in his career.