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ATP Challenger: Yuki Bhambri starts firm favourite; Vijay, Sidharth make it to the main draw

Yuki Bhambri, who is fresh from his victory in Pune, starts the firm favourite in the $100,000 Bengaluru Open ATP Challenger that kicks off at the KSLTA from Monday

By Aravind
Blaz Kavcic of Slovenia during a practice session at the Karnataka State Lawn Tennis Association in Bengaluru on Sunday

Bengaluru, Nov 19: Yuki Bhambri, who is fresh from his victory in Pune, starts the firm favourite in the $100,000 Bengaluru Open ATP Challenger that kicks off at the Karnataka State Lawn Tennis Association here from Monday (November 20). However, the 25-year-old has to overcome a stiff competition before he enacts an encore at the fast paced courts of KSLTA.

The main competition will come from the top seed Blaz Kavcic from Slovia, who is just a few points shy of breaking into the top-100. Saketh Myneni, who has shown a tremendous return to form after a long injury layoff is another strong challenger. Spaniard Menendez Maceiras, who is seeded second for the tournament, and Pune Open ATP Challenger finalist Ramkumar Ramanathan are the other top contenders.

Myneni, who lost in the semifinals last week, says he will go into the tournament with an open mind. "It's good to be back and I need to keep working hard and play more tournaments to go back to the ranking where I was," said the 30-year-old, now ranked 907. "The conditions are tough here. Thanks to KSLTA for having given me a wildcard as I could not have made it to the qualifiers. I shall try and justify the gesture."

The top seed Kavcic, meanwhile, admitted that there was the pressure of the top ranking. "People expect you to win if you are seeded at the top," said the 30-year-old who was once ranked 68 about four years ago. Twin surgeries cut his journey short and plummeted his ranking to 450. However, with grit and determination, he has jumped back to 102 in a span of 18 months.

"I haven't come here to win or make money. I have come here to just make some points, which will give me an entry into the Australian Open in January," he added. "I still have to acclimatize and luckily I have my match on Tuesday, which will give me more time to practice."

Meanwhile, there was a cheer for the Indian camp as two players, N Vijay Sundar Prashant and Sidharth Rawat, claimed two out of four qualifying spots.

Vijay defeated Russian Shalva Dzhanashia of 6-3 6-2 and Sidharth overcame Timur Khabibulin of Kazakhistan 6-2 7-6 (5). Frenchman Borna Gojo and Crotian Matej Sabanov were the other two qualifiers.


Results Qualifying Round 3:

Antoine Escoffier (FRA) lost to Borna Gojo (CRO) 1-6 6-3 0-6; N Vijay Sundar Prashant (IND) bt Shalva Dzhanashia (RUS) 6-3 6-2; Sidharth Rawat (IND) bt Timur Khabibulin (KAZ) 6-2 7-6 (5); Naoki Nagakawa (JAP) lost to Matej Sabanov (CRO) 5-7 4-6.


Source: Press release

Story first published: Sunday, November 19, 2017, 19:41 [IST]
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