The ATP (Association of Tennis Professionals) tour has regular tournaments and championships held across the world for professional tennis players and the latest tournament taking place is the 2018 ATP Challenger Bengaluru Open. This is an annual hard-court tournament with Men’s Singles and Men’s Doubles tournaments running simultaneously.
Played at the Karnataka State Lawn Tennis Association, the Bengaluru Tennis Open has been taking place as a part of the ATP calendar since 2015, now running its third edition, as the 2016 tournament was cancelled. The $150,000 prize money attracts many top pros from around the world and last year, it was an all-Indian affair.
India’s Sumit Nagal won the Men’s Singles tournament, while Divij Sharan won the Men’s Doubles tournament, with his partner Mikhail Elgin. It was a brilliant year for Sharan which continued in 2018 as well, winning gold in the 2018 Asian Games, along with his partner Rohan Bopanna.
This year too, could be a good one for Indian players at the Bengaluru Open, as a few Indian players have progressed, including Sasi Kumar Mukund and Prajnesh Gunneswaran. The 21-year old Sasi Kumar defeated Slovenia’s Blaž Kavčič earlier today in straight sets in their Round of 16 game, and he sure will see a rise in his world ATP ranking of 375 after this performance.
“My coach is a very optimistic person. He’s always looking to put his players on the big stages. Earlier in the year we made a conscious decision to play five Challengers and see how it goes. But then I made two quarterfinals and after that he didn’t want me to play Futures much,” said Mukund after the win.
Well, one Indian is certain to exit the 2018 ATP Bangalore Open tomorrow, as Gunneswaran also won his Round of 16 game, but will face Sasi Kumar in their quarter final game. 4th seed and 29-year old Gunneswaran won in straight sets 6-2, 6-2 against Russia’s Ivan Nedelko quite easily today.
Nagal himself has gone through so we’re hopeful that another Indian will emerge victorious in this year’s ATP Bangalore Open. Keep reading ReadScoops.com for more updates from this tournament.
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