New Delhi, Feb 15 (.) Having got his entry at the last-minute, 26-year-old M Sureshkumar lit up day 1 of the ATP Delhi Open with
a come-from-behind win over fifth seed Lorenzo Carboni of Italy in the Men’s Singles first qualifying round at the DLTA Complex on Sunday, with davis cupper Ramkumar Ramanathan to crossing the first hurdle.
Sureshkumar rallied to sweep the 19-year-old Carboni in an hour and 53 minutes, winning 4-6, 6-2, 6-3.
Later in the day, Indian campaigner Ramkumar Ramanathan, starting as a wild card in qualifying, beat Tsung-Hao Huang of Chinese Taipei in straight sets, 6-1, 6-3.
“I wasn’t sure if I’d be coming to Delhi because I got my entry at the very last minute. To be honest, I wasn’t fully prepared since it was still doubtful whether I’d play or not. I didn’t have any expectations going into today because I knew he was a good player and a youngster. I just went into the match looking to play some good tennis,” Sureshkumar said after his victory.
It was a gritty fightback from Sureshkumar, who turned the match on its head after a slow start and took complete control in the second and third sets.
Finding rhythm behind his serve, he repeatedly pinned Carboni deep and dictated play with a relentless service game that left his opponent scrambling.
Once he gained the upper hand, there was little let-up, as Sureshkumar kept the pressure on and steadily pushed Carboni into a corner to seal the turnaround in style.
“I didn’t want to put any pressure on myself. I focused on sticking to that throughout the match, and I’m glad I was able to get the win.
I was more focused on my own game rather than on his. I had a clear set of things I wanted to execute. Once the match started, I began
to understand his strengths. His backhand was pretty solid, and he was making a few errors on the forehand side. I picked that up in the first couple of games, kept working with that pattern, and it worked out well,” the Chennai native added.
In other matches, top seed Denis Yevseyev was made to fight hard before edging past Mitsuki Wei Kang Leong 6-4, 6-7(3), 6-4 in a gripping three-setter. Tenth seed Eric Vanshelboim also came through a stern test, recovering from a set down to defeat Sidharth Rawat
5-7, 6-2, 6-2.
Second seed Ioannis Xilas survived a tight opening set against wildcard Ishaque Eqbal before pulling away 7-6(6), 6-2, 6-3, while sixth seed Luca Castelnuovo and seventh seed Alexandr Binda sealed straight-set wins, getting past Parth Aggarwal and Udit Kamboj, respectively.
Third seed Hyeon Chung looked sharp in a 6-2, 6-1 win over alternate Nitin Kumar Sinha, but there was no shortage of drama elsewhere. Alexander Donski knocked out 12th seed S D Prajwal Dev 6-3, 7-5, and alternate Uisung Park stunned ninth seed Mukund Sasikumar
6-4, 6-2 to shake up the draw. The winners now move into the second and final qualifying round on Monday, where six spots in the main draw will be up for grabs.
Results:
Men’s Singles Qualifying First Round:
[2] Ioannis Xilas (GRE) d. [WC] Ishaque Eqbal (IND) 7-6(6), 6-2, 6-3
[6] Luca Castelnuovo (SUI) d. [WC] Parth Aggarwal (IND) 6-2, 7-5
[7] Alexandr Binda (ITA) d. [WC] Udit Kamboj (IND) 6-4, 7-5
[10] Eric Vanshelboim (UKR) d. Sidharth Rawat (IND) 5-7, 6-2, 6-2
Alexander Donski (BUL) d. [12] S D Prajwal Dev (IND) 6-3, 7-5
[1/Alt] Denis Yevseyev (KAZ) d. Mitsuki Wei Kang Leong (MAS) 6-4, 6-7(3), 6-4
[3] Hyeon Chung (KOR) d. [Alt