New Delhi, Feb 16 (NationPress) India’s Karan Singh faced a tough defeat against Daniel Michalski, the seventh seed from Poland, in a gripping three-set encounter during the first round of the main draw at the 2026 Delhi Open on Monday. This ATP Challenger 75 tournament, now in its sixth edition, is taking place at the DLTA Complex from February 16 to 22, featuring 32 competitors in men’s singles and 16 doubles teams vying for the title.

Reflecting on his victory, Michalski stated, “I was already on the verge of elimination from the tournament. Then my game improved significantly, and I delivered much better tennis towards the end. In high-level tennis, the margins are extremely slim.”

In other first-round main draw contests, fifth seed Oliver Crawford from Great Britain secured a challenging 7-6, 6-5 victory over Croatia’s Duje Ajdukovic, while Michael Geerts from Belgium overcame Lithuania’s Edas Butvilas with a score of 6-3, 7-5.

During the final round of qualifying on Monday, India’s Manish Sureshkumar made a remarkable comeback from a 5-3 deficit in the second set, winning 6-3, 7-5 against Korea's Uisung Park. The 26-year-old is the only Indian to advance from the qualifying rounds and expressed his delight at performing well on a court he cherishes.

“This court holds a special place for me as I’ve played numerous matches here. I’ve even won two Nationals on this very court. I’m thrilled with how I played today. Despite trailing a break in the second set, I managed to pull off the win,” he remarked after his match.

Sureshkumar entered the qualifying draw last minute as an alternate but is seizing the opportunity. “Sometimes the unexpected happens when you least expect it, and this is one of those moments. I aim to maintain this momentum in the main draw. I don’t feel any pressure since they are all exceptional players. As an underdog, I just want to keep the momentum going,” he added.

The other Indian in the final round of qualifying, Ramkumar Ramanathan, lost in straight sets to Korea’s Hyeon Chung, who has previously been ranked as high as No. 19 globally and once defeated Novak Djokovic during the 2018 Australian Open semi-finals. The 29-year-old is currently ranked No. 393 in the world after returning to the tour in late 2024 following ongoing back injuries that sidelined him from competitive play.

Top seed Denis Yevseyev of Kazakhstan, second seed Ioannis Xilas of Greece, fourth seed Maks Kasnikowski of Poland, and seventh seed Alexandr Binda of Italy also triumphed in their final round qualifying matches, securing their spots in the main draw.

Historically, Somdev Devvarman is the sole Indian singles champion of this tournament, having clinched back-to-back titles in 2014 and 2015. Additionally, all-Indian doubles champions have emerged twice previously, with Saketh Myneni/Sanam Singh and Yuki Bhambri/Mahesh Bhupathi winning the trophy in 2015 and 2016, respectively.

As part of the ATP Challenger 75 series, the tournament will award 75 ranking points to both singles and doubles champions, 50 points to the doubles runners-up, and 44 points to the singles runner-up. The singles champion will take home $17,000 in prize money, while the runner-up will receive $9,600. The doubles champions will share $4,980, and the runners-up will divide $2,880.

Day 2 results:

Men’s singles main draw - first round:

[5] Oliver Crawford (GBR) d. Duje Ajdukovic (CRO) 7-6 (3), 7-5

[7] Daniel Michalski (POL) d. [WC] Karan Singh (IND) 4-6, 7-6 (5), 6-3

Michael Geerts (BEL) d. Edas Butvilas (LTU) 6-3, 7-5

Men’s Singles qualifying - final round:

[1/Alt] Denis Yevseyev (KAZ) d. Alexander Donski (BUL) 4-6, 6-4, 6-1

[2] Ioannis Xilas (GRE) d. [10] Eric Vanshelboim (UKR) 6-3, 6-2

[3] Hyeon Chung (KOR) d. [WC] Ramkumar Ramanathan 6-2, 6-2

[4] Maks Kasnikowski (POL) d. [Alt] Grigoriy Lomakin (KAZ) 6-1, 6-2

[7] Alexandr Binda (ITA) d. [6] Luca Castelnuovo (SUI) walkover

[Alt] Manish Sureshkumar (IND) d. [Alt] Uisung Park (KOR) 6-3, 7-5