MahaOpen ATP Challenger: Indian Doubles Teams Advance as Vacherot and Svrcina Reach Quarterfinals

Pune, Feb 19 (NationPress) Indian doubles teams advanced to the quarterfinals, while eighth-seeded Alexis Galrneau from Canada, along with unseeded players Valentin Vacherot of Monaco and Dalibor Svrcina from the Czech Republic, moved forward to the singles quarterfinals at the Maha Open ATP Challenger 100 Men’s Tennis Championship held at the Mhalunge Balewadi Tennis Stadium.

In the doubles category, the top-seeded Indian duo of Jeevan Nedunchezhiyan and Vijay Sundar Prashanth made a remarkable comeback from 3-5 down to defeat the Danish team of August Holmgren and Elmer Moller with a score of 6-3, 7-6 (7), securing their place in the quarterfinals. They are set to face another Indian pair, Saketh Myneni and Ramkumar Ramanathan, who triumphed over the Belgian duo Michael Geerts and Billy Harris with a scoreline of 6-0, 6-4.

The finalists from last week in Delhi, Niki Kaliyanda Poonacha and Courtney John Lock from Zimbabwe, played well to overcome the Canadian team of Alexis Galarneau and Kelsey Stevenson, winning 6-4, 7-6 (1) to secure their quarterfinal spot.

In the singles second round, eighth-seeded Alexis Galarneau defeated wildcard Michael Geerts from Belgium 6-4, 6-4. The previous champion Valentin Vacherot from Monaco eliminated Japanese qualifier Masamichi Imamura with a score of 6-2, 6-3 in just over an hour, advancing to the last eight stage.

Czech Republic's Dalibor Svrcina fought back to defeat Jurij Rodionov of Austria with a score of 6-4, 7-5. Meanwhile, qualifier Ilia Simakin from Russia displayed a strong performance against James McCabe of Australia, winning 6-2, 6-4 to reach the quarterfinals.

However, other Indian players, including wildcards Siddhant Banthia, Parikshit Somani, Karan Singh, and Nitin Kumar Sinha, could not progress further. In a surprising turn in the doubles, Russians Petr Bar Biryukov and Ilia Simakin upset the third seeds Aniruddha Chandrashekar and Ray Ho from Taipei, winning 7-6 (3), 6-5-7, 10-4.

Results: Main Draw: Second Round:

Valentin Vacherot (MON) bt [Q] Masamichi Imamura (JPN) 6-2, 6-3;

[8] Alexis Galarneau (CAN) bt [Q] Michael Geerts (BEL) 6-4, 6-4

Dalibor Svrcina (CZE) bt Jurij Rodionov (AUT) 6-4, 7-5;

[Q] Ilia Simakin bt James McCabe (AUS) 6-2, 6-4;

Doubles: First Round:

[1] Jeevan Nedunchezhiyan (IND) / Vijay Sundar Prashanth (IND) bt August Holmgren/Elmer Moller (DEN) 6-3, 7-6(7);

[2] Blake Bayldon (AUS) / Matthew Christopher Romios (AUS) bt [Wc] Siddhant Banthia (IND) / Parikshit Somani (IND) 6-2, 6-4;

Enrico Dalla Valle (ITA) / Khumoyun Sultanov (UZB) bt [Wc] Karan Singh / Nitin Kumar Sinha (IND) 6-2, 6-2;

Niki Kaliyanda Poonacha (IND) / Courtney John Lock (ZIM) bt Alexis Galarneau / Kelsey Stevenson (CAN) 6-4, 7-6(1)

[4] Blake Ellis / Tristan Schoolkate (AUS) bt Johannes Ingildsen (DEN) / Ivan Liutarevich (Rus) 6-3, 6-4;

Saketh Myneni / Ramkumar Ramanathan (IND) bt Michael Geerts (BEL) / Billy Harris (GBR) 6-0, 6-4.

Petr Bar Biryukov / Ilia Simakin (Rus) bt (3) Aniruddha Chandrashekar (IND) / Ray Ho (Tpe) 7-6(3), 6(5)-7, 10-4