New Delhi, Feb 11: India’s Sasikumar Mukund rallied from a set down to defeat France’s Sascha Gueymard Wayenburg 4-6, 6-2, 6-0 and advance to the round of 16 at the Delhi Open here on Tuesday.
Fresh from India’s Davis Cup World Group I Playoff victory over Togo recently, Mukund started his opening-round match in the tournament on the back foot against the Frenchman, who entered the main draw as a ‘lucky loser’ from qualifying.
However, the Indian relied on a strong service game in the second set, winning 6-2 after converting three of four break points.
Carrying the momentum forward, Mukund completely dominated the decider, breaking his opponent three times to seal a commanding 6-0 final-set victory.
He will next face Belgium’s Michael Geerts in the round of 16.
Wildcard Ramkumar Ramanathan showed glimpses of a fight-back but ultimately fell short against Dalibor Svrcina of the Czech Republic, losing 2-6, 6-2, 0-6.
After dropping the opening set, Ramkumar forced a decider with a solid comeback in the second, but couldn’t sustain his push.
Among the leading players, third seed Tristan Schoolkate of Australia had a strong start against Turkey’s Ergi Kirkin, taking the first set 6-0. Kirkin, however, responded in the second, pushing Schoolkate into a tense tiebreaker, which the Australian finally won 7-6 (12-10).
Sixth seed Shintaro Mochizuki, a 21-year-old from Japan who can count the 2019 Wimbledon boys’ singles title, also advanced with a 6-3, 7-5 victory over Denmark’s August Holmgren.
In other matches, France’s Kyrian Jacquet defeated seventh seed Sho Shimabukuro of Japan in straight sets, while the UK’s Jay Clarke made light work of Japan’s Masamichi Imamura 6-1, 6-4. (PTI)
