Pune (Maharashtra) [India], February 23 : Former top-50-ranked player Ilya Ivashka pulled off the upset of the day, knocking out top seed Federico Agustin Gomez in a thrilling three-set battle in the opening round of the PMRDA Powered Maha Open ATP Challenger 75 Men's Tennis Championship at the Shiv Chhatrapati Kreeda Sankul, Mhalunge Balewadi Tennis Stadium, according to a release.
The tournament is organised by Maharashtra State Lawn Tennis Association (MSLTA) in association with the Department of Sports and Youth Services, Govt of Maharashtra, PCMC, PMC and PMDTA and sponsored by Pune Metropolitan Regional Development Authority (PMRDA).
Ivashka dominated the opening set 6-1 before Gomez roared back to take the second set by the same scoreline. The decider went down to an intense tie-breaker, where Ivashka held his nerve to seal a 6-1, 1-6, 7-6(7) victory in a match lasting 2 hours and 25 minutes, booking his place in the second round.
Japan's Yuta Shimizu produced a clinical performance to defeat Italy's Lorenzo Carboni 6-4, 6-4 in straight sets. Britain's Alastair Gray battled past Poland's Daniel Michalski 6-3, 3-6, 6-3 in a hard-fought contest. Croatia's Duje Ajdukovic also advanced comfortably with a 6-2, 6-4 win over Korea's Shin San-hui.
It was not a great outing for the two Indian qualifiers as Takuya Kumasaka of Japan defeated S D Prajwal Dev 6-4, 6-2, while Chinese Taipei's Tung-Lin Wu enjoyed a 7-5, 6-4 win over Digvijaypratap Singh in the final round of qualifying matches.
Japan's Maks Kasnikowski, Masamichi Imamura, YusukeTakahashi and Malaysian Mitsuki Wei Kang Leong were the other qualifiers. With several closely contested matches and a major upset on the opening day, the ATP Challenger 75 event promises more high-quality action in the days ahead as players vie for crucial ranking points and the coveted title in Pune.
The opening day of the tournament was inaugurated in the presence of the Commissioner of Sports, Maharashtra, Sheetal Teli- Ugale (IAS); Deepak Singla (IAS), PMRDA Jt Commissioner; Prashant Sutar, President of MSLTA; Sunder Iyer, Hon Secretary of MSLTA; Rogerio Santos, ATP Supervisor.
Results:
Main Draw (First Round)
Singles:
Ilya Ivashka bt Federico Agustin Gomez[1](ARG)6-1, 1-6, 7-6(7);
Yuta Shimizu (JPN) bt Lorenzo Carboni (ITA)6-4, 6-4;
Alastair Gray (GBR) Vs Daniel Michalski (POL) 6-3, 3-6, 6-3;
Duje Ajdukovic (CRO) bt Sanhui Shin (KOR) 6-2, 6-4;
Final Qualifying round:
Takuya Kumasaka [7] (JPN) bt S D Prajwal Dev (IND) 6-4, 6-2;
Tung-Lin Wu [2] (TPE) bt Digvijaypratap Singh (IND) 7-5, 6-4;
Maks Kasnikowski [1] (POL) bt Egor Agafonov 6-4, 6-4;
Masamichi Imamura [11] (JPN) bt David Jorda Sanchis [3] (ESP) 6-4, 6-3;
Mitsuki Wei Kang Leong (MAS) bt Tsung-Hao Huang [8] (TPE) 6-2, 6-3;
Yusuke Takahashi [10] (JPN) bt Alexander Binda [6] (ITA) 6-4, 6-3.
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