DafaNews Bengaluru Open 2024: Indian stars Nagal and Ramkumar draw French rivals in opening round

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Bengaluru, February 11: India's top singles players Sumit Nagal and Ramkumar Ramanathan have drawn French players as their singles main draw first round opponents at the DafaNews Bengaluru Open 2024.

While second seed Nagal is set to take on Geoffrey Blancaneaux, Ramkumar will be clashing with Maxime Janvier in the opening round for the prestigious tournament organised by Karnataka State Lawn Tennis Association (KSLTA) at KSLTA Stadium.

Qualifying rounds will begin on Sunday (February 11), while the main draw starts on Monday (Febraury 12), and the final is scheduled to take place a week later on February 18.

Blancaneaux is not a new rival for Nagal, who he has beaten three times so far. Nagal, ranked 121, had even beaten him in the Australian Open Qualifiers and would look to extend his dominance over the French player.

Ramkumar has a 1-1 head-to-head record against Janiver and if he clears the first round hurdle, he is likely to run into top seed Italian Luca Nardi. Nardi has been drawn to meet a qualifier in his opening round.

"It is always exciting to see Indians in the main draw. Hosting international tournaments in the country helps local players as they get to play alongside top global names," Tournament Director Sunil Yajaman said.

"With the presence of players like former World No. 25 Vasek Pospsil, Sumit Nagal and Luca Nardi, the tournament will witness intense competition as fans can expect a week full of exciting and high voltage action at the KSLTA Stadium."

Australian Adam Walton has been seeded third and will open his campaign against Indian wild card entrant Prajwal Dev in the men's singles competition.

In the doubles main draw, French Dan Added and Korea's Yun Seong Chung have been given the top billing and will clash with the Australian pair of Tristan Schoolkate and Adam Walton.

Australia's Christopher Matthew Romios and Poland's Piotr Matuszewski are seeded second and will take on Taipei's Ray Ho and Australia's Calum Puttergill.

There are nine Indians in the doubles main draw. N Sriram Balaji and his German partner Andre Begemann. They will clash with the German combination of Mark Wallner and Jakob Schnaitter.

Source: Media Release