Arjun Kadhe upset sixth seed Johan Nikles of Switzerland 6-4, 6-4 to take one step closer to gaining an entry into the main round of the Bengaluru Open ATP Challenger here on Sunday.
In a clash of two Indians, eighth seed Mukund Sasikumar overcame Adil Kalyanpur 6-2, 6-3 and became only the second Indian out of nine in the fray to advance to the second round of the qualifiers.
Pune-based Arjun was serving for the match at 5-3 in the second set after having taken the first at 6-4.
In a battle of unforced errors, Arjun lost his serve and then broke his opponent’s serve to win the match.
“I think I served well today which put me into a good stead. I did not offer a breakpoint for him until the second set,” said the 28-year-old Arjun. “It was tough for both of us as the ball was flying and hence it is more of forced errors rather than unforced.”
The second round of the qualifiers and five of the first round matches of the main draw will be held on Monday.
Meanwhile, Jiri Vesely, the highest ranked competitor in the fray, landed in the city from Pune and headed straight for practice.
"It was unfortunate that I could not make it to Bengaluru the last time around as it was a very tiring and demanding week in Pune (2020),” said the Czech who, after winning the title in Pune, had cancelled his visit to Bengaluru.
"I am really excited and looking forward to playing the Challengers this time. My game is coming good and I hope to put up a good show," said Vesely, currently ranked 80th and had reached a career best ranking of 35 in 2015.
(Reported by PTI)
