New Delhi, Feb 21 (.) Top seeds Siddhant Banthia (India) and Alexander Donski (Bulgaria) claimed the doubles title in the 2026 Delhi Open ATP Challenger Tennis evening on Saturday evening.
They came back from behind after dropping the first set, staved off a match point in the thrilling final set before winning against the Indo-Thailand duo of Pruchya Isaro (Thailand) and Niki Kaliyanda Poonacha 4-6, 6-4, 12-10 in an engrossing contest.
In the singles, fifth seed Oliver Crawford (Great Britain) and unseeded Stefanos Sakellaridis (Greece) will set up a title clash on Sunday.
The Double summit clash turned out to be a close contest. AFter Banthia and Donski went down 4-6 in the opening set against the second-seeded pair, they bounced back to take the second set by the same scoreline.
The third set tie-break proved to be a tense affair. At 10-10, both teams had saved one match point each before Banthia and Donski sealed the contest 4-6, 6-4, 12-10 to clinch the title.
The victory marked Banthia’s second career ATP Challenger doubles title — both won alongside Donski — while it was Donski’s third ATP Challenger doubles crown.
“It was a great performance. They played very well,” Donski said after the win. “They showed a really high level and they brought out the best of us. I’m just grateful to my partner, of course, for being with me the whole week. We had good energy, good chemistry and now we’re looking forward to the next tournament in Pune.”
“I trust in Alex as much as he does in me and that was the key to stay with each other because we knew the match was going to be tough and hanging there at the crucial moments and I thought we did exceptional whenever the points mattered,” Banthia said after the match.
Banthia and Donski earned 75 ranking points and a prize money cheque of USD 4,980 while Poonacha/ Isaro gained 50 ranking points and a prize money of usd 2,880.
The doubles semi-finals took place earlier in the day where Banthia and Donski defeated the British-Belgian pair of Jay Clarke and Michael Geerts 7-6(6), 7-6(3), while Poonacha and Isaro overcame the Korean-Finnish duo of JiSung Nam and Patrik Niklas-Salminen 7-6(3), 6-4.
This was the third time an Indian player has lifted the doubles trophy at the Delhi Open. Saketh Myneni/Sanam Singh and Yuki Bhambri/Mahesh Bhupathi had won the title in 2015 and 2016 respectively. With the Indian challenge in singles now over, Somdev Devvarman remains the only Indian singles champion in the tournament’s history, having won back-to-back titles in 2014 and 2015.
In the singles competition, Crawford progressed to the final after defeating second seed Rei Sakamoto of Japan 6-4, 6-3 in one hour and 38 minutes. The 26-year-old Brit, ranked No. 215 in the world, secured a crucial break in the 10th game of the first set to convert his fourth set point. He added another break in the fourth game of the second set and held firm to close out the match. Crawford converted two of eight break-point opportunities and saved both break points on his serve.
“It was a very high-level match. I thought I played very well start to finish,” Crawford commented after his win. “Obviously he’s a ridiculously good player, so I knew I had to be on my best performance today. I’m just really pleased with my efforts and looking forward to the final tomorrow.”
In the other semi-final, Sakellaridis registered a straight sets win over Felix Gill. The Greek dominated the opening set before a closely contested second set, which featured no break points and was decided in a tie-break. Gill saved three match points in the tie-break, but Sakellaridis converted his fourth to seal the 6-1, 7-6 victory in one hour and 31 minutes. The 21-year-old, ranked No. 275 in the world, saved the only break point he faced and converted three of five opportunities on Gill’s serve.
“It was a great game, great atmosphere, very nice to play here,” Sakellaridis said after his win. “The crowd was great, good atmosphere, so it’s very enjoyable and I had a very good start, especially in this match. I managed to get the first set quickly and there was a great battle in the second set. I’m happy I managed to get over it. I’m very excited, it’s my first final on the Challenger Tour.”
Results:
Singles Semifinals :
[5] Oliver Crawford (GBR) d. [2] Rei Sakamoto (JPN) 6-4, 6-3
Stefanos Sakellaridis d Felix Gill (GBR) 6-1, 7-6(5).
Doubles Semifinals:
[1] Siddhant Banthia (IND)/ Alexander Donski (BUL) d. Jay Clarke (GBR)/ Michael Geerts (BEL) 7-6(6), 7-6(3)
[2] Pruchya Isaro (THA)/ Niki Kaliyanda Poonacha (IND) d. [3] JiSung Nam (KOR)/ Patrik Niklas-Salminen (FIN) 7-6(3), 6-4.
Final :
[1] Siddhant Banthia (IND)/ Alexander Donski (BUL) d. [2] Pruchya Isaro (THA)/ Niki Kaliyanda Poonacha (IND) 4-6, 6-4, 12-10
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