Bengaluru, Jan 7 (.) Indian tennis fans witnessed a day of contrasting fortunes at the 10th Dafa News Bengaluru Open 2026, as Dhakshineswar Suresh and Manas Dhamne marched into the singles quarter-finals with gritty three-set wins, while former champion Sumit Nagal bowed out after an epic battle against second seed Harold Mayot of France.
Nagal fought for over three hours but eventually went down 7-6 (2), 6-1, 7-6 (11) to Mayot in a contest marked by sharp momentum shifts and sheer physical endurance.
Mayot struck first by breaking early in the opening set, but Nagal showed trademark resilience to level matters and force a tie-break.
The Frenchman raised his intensity at the decisive moments to take the set. Nagal responded strongly in the second, altering his tactics by approaching the net more frequently, breaking early and dominating the set to draw level.
The decider turned into a war of attrition, with both players producing high-quality shot-making and scrambling defence. Nagal’s powerful forehands gave him an early edge in the final tie-break, but fatigue proved decisive as Mayot held his nerve, saving seven match points overall to seal the contest in three hours and nine minutes.
Earlier, Dhakshineswar Suresh battled past 19-year-old Felix Balshaw of France in a dramatic encounter, winning 6-3, 1-6, 7-6(4). The 25-year-old Indian controlled the opening set with his big serve and steady baseline play before Balshaw hit back strongly in the second as his serve and one-handed backhand found rhythm.
In a tense deciding set, Suresh showed remarkable resolve, breaking back late after falling behind and then producing composed, high-percentage tennis in the tie-break to close out the match.
Eighteen-year-old wildcard Manas Dhamne also delighted the home crowd with a composed 6-2, 3-6, 6-2 win over Kazakhstan’s Beibit Zhukayev. Dhamne used his movement and anticipation to blunt Zhukayev’s power in the first set.
Although the Kazakh levelled the match with a stronger serving display in the second, the Indian teenager adjusted smartly, reading patterns better and maintaining relentless pressure from the baseline to comfortably take the decider.
Top seed Pedro Martinez of Spain, Kazakhstan’s Timofey Skatov, Germany’s Cedrik-Marcel Stebe, Czechia’s Jonas Forejtek and Frenchman Matteo Martineau also progressed to the singles quarter-finals.
In the doubles draw, Indian pair SD Prajwal Dev and Nitin Kumar Sinha advanced to the last eight, as did top seeds N Sriram Balaji of India and Neil Oberleitner of Austria, the Dutch duo of Max Houkes and Niels Visker, and Kazakhstan’s Petr Bar Biryukov and Grigoriy Lomakin.
Results:
Singles Round of 16:
2-Harold Mayot (FRA) bt Sumit Nagal (IND) 7-6(2), 6-1, 7-6(11); Dhakshineswar Suresh (IND) bt Felix Balshaw (FRA) 6-3, 1-6, 7-6(4); Manas Dhamne (IND) bt Beibit Zhukayev (KAZ) 6-2, 3-6, 6-2; 1-Pedro Martinez (ESP) bt Micheal Geerts (BEL) 7-6(3), 6-3; 6-Timofey Skatov (KAZ) bt Mitsuki Wei Kang Leong (MAS) 6-3, 7-5; Cedrik-Marcel Stebe (GER) bt Borna Gojo (CRO) 7-5, 7-6(9); Jonas Forejtek (CZE) bt Dan Martin (CAN) 6-7(5), 6-1, 6-4; Matteo Martineau (FRA) bt Eric Vanshelbolm (UKR) 6-2, 6-2.
Doubles Round of 16:
Max Houkes/Niels Visker (NED) bt 2-Anirudh Chandrasekar/Arjun Kadhe (IND) 2-6, 7-6(4), 10-5; 1-N Sriram Balaji (IND)/Neil Oberleitner (AUT) bt Vladyslav Orlov (UKR)/Eero Vasa (FIN) 6-3, 6-2; Petr Bar Biryukov/Grigoriy Lomakin (KAZ) bt Siddhant Banthia/Dhakshineswar Suresh (IND) 6-4, 6-4; SD Prajwal Dev/Nitin Kumar Sinha (IND) bt Micheal Geerts (BEL)/Seita Watanabe (JPN) 6-2, 7-5.
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