India’s Myneni makes it to US Open main draw

NEW YORK: India’s Saketh Myneni literally blew away Serbian Pedja Kristin 6-3, 6-0 in only 56 minutes to earn his maiden entry into the men’s singles event of the upcoming U.S. Open.

To make it to the main draw, Saketh needed to win three rounds in the qualifiers and he made it with minimum fuss without dropping a single set.

In the earlier rounds, Myneni, seeded 26th, won 7-6 (6), 6-4 over local lad Mitchell Krueger. Myneni beat Albano Olivetti of France 7-5, 6-3 in the first round.

The last two Indian players to have qualified for a singles Grand Slam tournament main round were Yuki Bhambri and Somdev Devvarman.

Saketh, ranked 143rd in the ATP chart, lost in the third Qualifying round at the Australian Open and bowed out in the second round of the French Open earlier this year.

Pedja went into the contest 1-0 up in head-to-head record with a win over the Indian in Turkey in May last year but proved to be no match for Myneni on the day.