KOLKATA, March 11: Shanker Heisnam earned his maiden ATP ranking point as he defeated the Netherlands’ Stijn Pel to enter the pre-quarterfinals of the men’s singles at the Central Excise & CGST ITF M25 Kolkata here on Wednesday.
The 19-year-old from Manipur, who received a main draw wild card, won 7-6 (4), 6-3.Heisnam will next face top seed Luca Castelnuovo of Switzerland.
Both players dropped serve once as the opening set moved into a tie-break where Heisnam prevailed 7-4.
Heisnam, the 2025 Khelo India Youth Games champion, started strongly in the second set, engaging in long rallies and mixing up the pace to unsettle his opponent.He broke qualifier Pel twice to surge to a 3-0 lead, though he briefly faltered to drop his serve.From 3-2 onwards, Heisnam took complete control, winning three consecutive games to seal the contest and justify the faith shown in him through the wild card.(PTI)
