Pune, Feb 24 (NationPress) India's leading tennis player Sumit Nagal showcased an impressive display, while local teenager and promising talent Manas Dhamne exhibited remarkable composure, leading the charge for India at the Maha Open ATP Challenger 75 Men's Tennis Championship held at the Shiv Chhatrapati Kreeda Sankul in Pune on Tuesday.

Nagal captivated the enthusiastic home crowd with a decisive 6-1, 6-2 win against seventh seed Rio Noguchi from Japan, completing the match in just over an hour. He dominated from the baseline, consistently breaking serve to secure his place in the second round.

Meanwhile, local standout Dhamne, who earned a spot in the main draw via a Wildcard, continued his commendable run on the Challenger circuit, overcoming last week's Delhi Challenger champion, Stefanos Sakellaridis of Greece, with a score of 6-4, 7-6(4). The Pune prodigy, currently ranked 489, demonstrated exceptional maturity by holding his nerve in a tense second-set tiebreak, achieving a remarkable victory over the 220th-ranked Greek player.

In other matches, eighth seed Edas Butvilas from Lithuania delivered a masterclass in tennis, overpowering local wild card Aditya Balsekar with a score of 6-0, 6-1. Additionally, Indian player Karan Singh fell to qualifier Maks Kasnikowski from Poland, 6-3, 6-1.

Third seed Ilia Simakin of Russia narrowly defeated qualifier Mitsuki Wei Kang Leong from Malaysia, triumphing 4-6, 6-2, 7-6(10) in a grueling match that lasted 2 hours and 24 minutes.

Sixth seed Federico Cina from Italy showcased dominance with a swift 6-1, 6-0 victory against Japanese qualifier Takuya Kumasaka. British player Felix Gill made a stunning comeback to win against Belgian Michael Geerts, 1-6, 7-6(9), 6-4, while fifth seed Frederico Ferreira Silva from Portugal advanced with a 6-3, 6-4 win over Petr Bar Biryukov. Qualifier Tung-Lin Wu of Chinese Taipei continued his strong performance, defeating lucky loser Alexander Binda of Italy with a score of 6-1, 6-2.

In the upcoming second round on Wednesday, Dhamne will face former world no. 40 Illya Ivashka.

Results:

Singles (first round):

Edas Butvilas [8](Ltu) bt [WC] Aditya Balsekar (Ind) 6-0, 6-1;

Federico Cina [6] (Ita) bt [Q] Takuya Kumasaka (Jpn) 6-1, 6-0;

Felix Gill (Gbr) bt Michael Geerts (Bel) 1-6, 7-6(9), 6-4;

Frederico Ferreira Silva [5] (Por) bt Petr Bar Biryukov 6-3, 6-4;

[Q] Tung-Lin Wu (Tpe) bt [LL] Alexander Binda (Ita) 6-1, 6-2;

Ilia Simakin [3] bt [Q] Mitsuki Wei Kang Leong (Mas) 4-6, 6-2, 7-6(10);

Sumit Nagal (Ind) bt Rio Noguchi [7](Jpn) 6-1, 6-2;

[Wc] Manas Dhamne (Ind) bt Stefanos Sakellaridis (Gre) 6-4, 7-6(4);

Oliver Crawford [4](Gbr) bt Tsung-Hao Huang (Tpe) 6-2, 4-6, 6-0;

[Q] Maks Kasnikowski (Pol) Vs [Wc] Karan Singh (Ind) 6-3, 6-1;

[Q] Masamichi Imamura (Jpn) bt David Jorda Sanchis (Esp) 7-6(8), 6-4;

Doubles:

Yuta Shimizu (Jpn)/ Seita Watanabe [3](Jpn) bt S D Prajwal Dev (Ind)/ Nitin Kumar Sinha (Ind) 6-4, 7-6(2);