Prabodh stuns second seed Balsekar in third-set tiebreak; top-seeded Sureshkumar/Sinha advance to quarterfinals at Fenesta Open

Thirty-one-year-old Suraj Prabodh delivered a sensational upset at the 31st Fenesta Open National Tennis Championship, rallying from a set down to defeat No. 2 seed Aditya Balsekar 3-6, 6-2, 7-6 (7-4) at the DLTA Complex.

Thirty-one-year-old Suraj Prabodh delivered a sensational upset at the 31st Fenesta Open National Tennis Championship, rallying from a set down to defeat No. 2 seed Aditya Balsekar 3-6, 6-2, 7-6 (7-4) at the DLTA Complex. After losing the opening set, Prabodh adopted a more aggressive approach, a strategy that eventually paid dividends, according to a press release from Fenesta Open.

“Everybody knows he is a great player,” Prabodh told the media after his win. “I was just trying to hang in there, and especially after the first set, I thought because he was too consistent and he was just everywhere. I thought I should just try to be a little more aggressive and get into the points or start the points a little more aggressively. Somehow I got through it, and it was well planned, and the execution was also perhaps better.” Fifth seed Oges Jaya was also knocked out in the first round, losing 7-5, 2-6, 6-4 to big-serving Raghav Jaisinghani. Fourth seed Udit Kamboj, however, avoided an upset with a 6-1, 7-5 win over rising youngster Aditya Mor.

In the women's singles draw, fifth seed Aditi Rawat, seventh seed Laxmi Siri Dandu and eighth seed Sohini Mohanty registered wins. Rawat was made to work hard before prevailing 6-3, 7-5 over L Arunkumar. “In the last game, honestly, I was just focusing on myself,” she told the media after her match. “I was trying to just go for my shots. I wasn't really concerned about the scoreboard or the score. I just try to give my best in the match.”

The doubles competitions also got underway, with top seeds Manish Sureshkumar/Nitin Sinha advancing to the quarterfinals with a 7-5, 6-2 win over Raghav Jaisinghani/Lakshit Sood. “It was a pretty good match,” Sureshkumar said after the win. “I think there are a lot of good points. Hopefully our combination works going forward and let's see how it goes.”

Sinha credited his partner, who is also the top seed in the men’s singles draw, for the win. “He covered everything and it's always fun playing with him and we are looking forward to the next rounds.” There was another big upset in the men’s doubles draw, with Aryan Chauhan/Karan Singh combining to knock out second seeds Madhwin Kamath/Rohan Mehra 6-3, 3-6, 10-7.

In the boys’ U-18 draw, top seed Praneel Sharma scored a 6-0, 6-3 win over Sarthak Gaikwad to reach the round of 16. Third seed Harsh Malik was upset in the second round, while fourth seed Om Patel and fifth seed Mor also advanced to the last 16. In the girls’ U-18 draw, top seed S Bhuvaneswaran and third seed Shreeniti Chowdhury scored comfortable wins to reach the third round.

Men’s Singles First Round (Round of 32) ResultsSuraj R Prabodh def. Aditya Balsekar [2] 2-6, 6-2, 7-6 (7-4)Udit Kamboj [4] def. Aditya Mor 6-1, 7-5Raghav Jaisinghani def. Oges Jaya [5] 7-5, 2-6, 6-4 Deep Munim vs Prajwal Tewari 6-7 (3-7), 6-4, 6-4Rohith Gobinath def. Sunil Malik 6-0, 6-4Ajay Malik def. Dhiraj Vennapusa 7-6 (10-8), 6-7 (3-7), 6-1Prakaash Sarran def. Jatin Nain 6-3, 5-7, 6-4Jagmeet Singh def. Pranav Korade 6-3, 7-6 (7-4) Women’s Singles First Round (Round of 32) ResultsAditi Rawat [5] def. L Arunkumar 6-3, 7-5 Laxmi Siri Dandu [7] def. A Khorakiwala 6-2, 6-1Sohini Mohanty [8] def. Joell Nichole 7-5, 6-3Aahan Aahan def. Danica Fernando 6-4, 6-0A Sonkusare def. Sai Varanasi 6-1, 6-0A Jadhav def. Ananya Jain 6-2, 6-1Bela Tamhankar def. Jasmine Rawat 6-4, 6-2

Men’s Doubles First Round (Round of 16) ResultsM Sureshkumar [1] / Nitin Sinha [1] (WB) def. R Jaisinghani/ Lakshit Sood 7-5, 6-2Aryan Chauhan / Karan Singh def. Madhwin Kamath [2] / Rohan Mehra [2] 6-3, 3-6, 10-7Aditya Balsekar [3] / Pranav Karthik [3] def. Vansh Bisht / Ajay Malik 6-4, 6-4Rohith Gobinath / Srikar Doni def. Gagan Vimal / Irfan Husain 6-4, 3-6, 10-5D Vennapusa/ Suhith Lanka def. Deep Munim / Pranav Korade 6-2, 6-2 Women’s Doubles First Round (Round of 16) ResultsSonal Patil [3] / Pooja Ingale [3] def. Dedeepya Yedulla / Arthi Muniyan 6-2, 6-3Divya Bhardwaj / Jasmine Rawat def. A Shibasini / Rubani Sidhu 6-0, 5-7, 10-6

Boys U-18 Singles Second Round (Round of 32) ResultsPraneel Sharma [1] def. Sarthak Gaikwad 6-0, 6-3Srivaant Mummadi def. Harsh Malik [3] 6-0, 6-2Om Ramesh Patel [4] def. Mehul Jothish 6-2, 6-3Aditya Mor [5] def. Rishi Yadav 6-4, 6-3Srikar Doni def. Kushagra Arora [8] 6-2, 6-1Ribhav Saroha [10] def. Aarush Mandora 6-0, 6-1Sharan Somasi [11] def. Sangram Bhadury 6-3, 6-4Raghav Sarode [12] def. Fazal Ali Meer 7-5, 6-4N Badrinarayanan def. Paranjay Siwach [13] 6-4, 6-0Yashwin Dahiya [15] def. Tejas Ravi 6-3, 6-0Lakshya Chukka [16] def. Aryaveer Sharma 6-1, 6-1Veer Jiten Madam def. C Yale 6-2, 6-4Govardan Suresh def. Prateek Sheoran 3-6, 6-4, 6-3N Kirbakaran def. Divey Malik 7-5, 6-4 Girls U-18 Singles Second Round (Round of 32) ResultsS Bhuvaneswaran [1] def. Sarena Gahlot 6-1, 6-1Shreeniti Chowdhury [3] def. Paavani Bisht 6-1, 6-0Harsha Oruganti def. Vaishnavi Singh [4] 6-2, 6-0Iha Joshi def. Sree Velmanikandan [5] 6-7 (4-7), 6-3, 6-3Anjhalle Meka def. Tanusshri Sathesh [6] 6-2, 6-4Aahan Aahan [7] def. Aniha Gavinolla 6-1, 6-2Riddhi Shinde def. Priyanshi Katial [8] 6-1, 7-5Aaradhya Meena [9] def. Tejaswi Manneni 6-1, 6-1Shibani Gupte [10] def. Diya Chaudhary 6-3, 6-4Manvi Gupta def. Dhani Dhani [11] 6-2, 6-1Aashi Kashyap [12] def. Mehul Malik 7-6 (10-8), 6-2Ranjhana Sangram [13] def. Sanidya Karantoth 6-3, 3-6, 7-5Aahida Singh [14] def. Pooja Nagaraj 6-2, 6-3 Miraya Agrawal def. Kabyanjali Hazarika [15] 6-0, 6-0Heera V [16] def. Thatiparthy Hemaza 6-4, 6-1

Boys U-18 Doubles First Round (Round of 16) ResultsPraneel Sharma / Aditya Mor [1] def. Ryan Mehta / Ritvik Dutt 6-2, 6-3Raghav Sarode / Om Ramesh Patel [3] def. Parjanya Adury / Chandra Kopparapu 6-3, 6-2Ribhav Saroha / Veer Jiten Madam def. Sangram Bhadury / Gaurish Madaan 6-2, 6-4 Aryaveer Sharma / Vivaan Mirdha def. Kshitij Sinha / Raunak Gilra 6-4, 6-4 Girls U-18 Doubles First Round (Round of 16) ResultsSanmitha Harini / S Bhuvaneswaran [3] def. Akshita Antil / Priyanshi Katial 6-2, 6-2Ranjhana Sangram / Sarena Gahlot def. Kabyanjali Hazarika / Mahi Raulji 7-5, 6-1Heera V / Sree Sasthayini Velmanikandan def. Mehr Muralidass / Ruhin Kaushal 6-2, 6-0Manvi Rathi / Paavani Bisht def. Mehul Malik / Vani Bansal 7-6 (12-10), 6-1Aashi Kashyap / Vrandika Raput def. Tejaswi Manneni / Anarva Shyamraj 6-2, 6-2. (ANI)