Myneni knocks out defending champ Nagal
Saketh Myneni knocked defending champion Sumit Nagal out to book a berth in the semi-finals of the Bengaluru Open ATP Challenger Tour here on Thursday. In one of the two all-Indian quarter-finals, Myneni played aggressively in the first set to win 6-4, and then maintained composure when gusts of winds made things difficult for both the players to win the second set with identical margin. There were five break points in the second set as both the players struggled to keep the serves and returns in.
Myneni, who on Wednesday had registered a hard-fought win against Youssef Hossam, broke Nagal in the opening game of the first set to race to a 1-0 lead. With Nagal struggling to get his serve going, Myneni kept things simple winning the set on his serve.
“He is a tough opponent and a good friend. We have played each other a lot. We both didn’t have a great game but I got a win today and I will take that,” said Myneni, ranked 312 in the world.
Since his return from foot injury, Myneni has seen his ranking increase from among 900s to just shy of 300.
“We know each other’s game well. I think I played better at least in the first set and my returns were also good,” said Myneni, who is set to take on Kazakhstan’s Aleksandr Nedo- vyesov in semi-finals. Nedovyesov beat Frederico
Silva 6-4, 6-2 in the other quarterfinal.
With wind picking up in the second set, not only did their first serve percentages drop to 50s, both had difficulty in returns also. Both players broke each other five times until Myneni, who won three break points, took the set and match 6-4.
“The breeze had the ball flying and I think we were overcompensating. We were just trying to get the ball in,” Myneni said.
The second all-Indian quarter-final lasted just 2 minutes and 28 seconds with qualifier Sasi Kumar Mukund retiring 0-40 down in the first game itself of the opening set. Mukund looked in discomfort right at the start of the match and was soon seen clutching his back and conceding the match to Prajnesh Gunneswaran, the only seeded player left in fray. Gunneswaran, the tournament fourth seed, will face Canadian Brayden Schnur next.
Meanwhile, Schnur ended the challenge of Turkey’s Cem Ilkel 6-3, 6-4.