Pranav Karthik, the 21-year-old from Tamil Nadu, produced one of the standout upsets of the 31st Fenesta Open National Tennis Championship on 7 October, rallying from a set down to eliminate No. 4 seed Udit Kamboj in the second round at the DLTA complex in New Delhi. The three-set thriller — won 1-6, 7-6 (7-3), 6-2 in 2 hours and 31 minutes — announced Karthik as a serious contender in the draw.

How Karthik Turned the Match Around

Kamboj dominated the opening set, winning it 6-1, and the second set was equally contested before heading into a tiebreak. Karthik edged the tiebreak 7-3 and carried that momentum decisively into the final set.

'To be honest, I was thinking I was going to lose for sure after the horrible first set,' Karthik said. 'I just kept serving well and maintaining my service games. And when it came to the tiebreak, it was 50-50. Then I just pulled it off with 3-4 good points. When I pulled off the tiebreak, I got more confidence and started going for my shots.'

He credited the opening game of the decider as the psychological turning point. 'The first game of the third set is always important because you have to keep pushing through and keep the momentum because you don't want to give him the breathing space. And thankfully, I got the break in the first game, and then I was able to run away with the match after that,' he added.

Top Men's Seeds Advance Comfortably

Men's top seed Manish Sureshkumar was in imperious form, dispatching Lakshit Sood 6-0, 6-1 to stride into the quarterfinals. Joining him in the last eight are No. 6 seed Maan Kesharwani, No. 8 seed Rohan Mehra, and Suraj Prabodh, who had already made headlines by eliminating second seed Aditya Balsekar in the previous round on Tuesday. Sureshkumar is also the top seed in the men's doubles draw alongside partner Nitin Sinha, with their quarterfinal clash scheduled for later in the evening.

Women's Top Seeds Cruise Through

All top-five women's singles seeds secured their quarterfinal berths. Top seed Vaidehee Chaudhari defeated 16-year-old Aahan Aahan 6-4, 6-1, while second seed Shruti Ahlawat was clinical in a 6-1, 6-3 win over P Mundhe.

Despite the one-sided scoreline, Ahlawat was measured in her assessment. 'It was not easy or comfortable. I think the opponent was very good,' she said. 'I had to do everything to close the game, win the points. The score might look easy, but the match was good. I'm thinking point by point, match by match rather than thinking, I'll win the tournament.'

Third seed Akanksha Nitture was pushed harder, dropping the second set before recovering to beat Yubrani Banerjee 6-1, 4-6, 6-1. 'I started well in the second set. I was hoping to finish it in two sets. She played well on the crucial points. But I had to reset for the third set,' Nitture explained. 'I changed it in the third set, and it worked for me. I started keeping more balls in and started playing more consistently and mindfully.'

Junior Draws Produce Their Own Shocks

The Boys' U-18 singles threw up a notable upset as top seed Praneel Sharma was knocked out 7-6 (7-4), 6-4 by Veer Jiten Madam. Fourth seed Om Ramesh Patel and fifth seed Aditya Mor progressed to the quarterfinals in straight sets.

In the Girls' U-18 event, top seed Savitha Bhuvaneswaran survived a gruelling contest against 14th seed Aahida Singh — a match that lasted 2 hours and 45 minutes before Singh retired with Bhuvaneswaran leading 3-6, 7-6 (7-5), 3-0. Second seed Parthsarthi Mundhe and third seed Shreeniti Chowdhury also moved into the quarterfinals.

Key Results at a Glance

Men's Singles (Round of 16): Manish Sureshkumar [1] def. Lakshit Sood 6-0, 6-1; Pranav Karthik def. Udit Kamboj [4] 1-6, 7-6 (7-3), 6-2; Maan Kesharwani [6] def. Rohith Gobinath 6-1, 6-2; Rohan Mehra [8] def. Ajay Malik 7-6 (7-3), 6-3; Suraj R Prabodh def. Debasis Sahoo 6-4, 6-4.

Women's Singles (Round of 16): Vaidehee Chaudhari [1] def. Aahan Aahan 6-4, 6-1; Shruti Ahlawat [2] def. P Mundhe 6-1, 6-3; Akanksha Nitture [3] def. Yubrani Banerjee 6-1, 4-6, 6-1; Sonal Patil [4] def. Akansha Ghosh 6-3, 6-7 (4-7), 6-4; Aditi Rawat [5] def. A Sonkusare 6-3, 3-6, 6-2.

The quarterfinals across all draws are set to intensify the action as the tournament enters its business end at the DLTA, New Delhi.