Suraj Prabodh rallied from a set down to stun second seed Aditya Balsekar at the 31st Fenesta Open National Tennis Championship on Tuesday (October 6, 2026).
The 31-year-old Prabodh beat Balsekar 3-6, 6-2, 7-6 (7-4) at the DLTA Complex.
After losing the opening set, Prabodh adopted a more aggressive approach, a strategy that eventually paid dividends.
"Everybody knows he is a great player," Prabodh told the media after his win.
"I was just trying to hang in there and especially after the first set, I thought because he was too consistent and he was just everywhere. I thought I should just try to be a little more aggressive and get into the points or start the points a little more aggressively. Somehow I got through it and it was well planned and the execution was also perhaps better."
Fifth seed Oges Jaya was also knocked out in the first round, losing 7-5, 2-6, 6-4 to big-serving Raghav Jaisinghani. Fourth seed Udit Kamboj, however, avoided an upset with a 6-1, 7-5 win over rising youngster Aditya Mor.
In the women's singles draw, fifth seed Aditi Rawat, seventh seed Laxmi Siri Dandu, and eighth seed Sohini Mohanty registered wins. Rawat was made to work hard before prevailing 6-3, 7-5 over L Arunkumar.
“In the last game, honestly, I was just focusing on myself,” she said.
“I was trying to just go for my shots. I wasn't really concerned about the scoreboard or the score. I just tried to give my best in the match.”
The doubles competitions also got underway, with top seeds Manish Sureshkumar/Nitin Sinha advancing to the quarterfinals with a 7-5, 6-2 win over Raghav Jaisinghani/Lakshit Sood.
“It was a pretty good match,” Sureshkumar said after the win.
"I think there are a lot of good points. Hopefully our combination works going forward and let's see how it goes.”
Sinha credited his partner, who is also the top seed in the men’s singles draw, for the win. “He covered everything and it's always fun playing with him and we are looking forward to the next rounds.”
There was another big upset in the men’s doubles draw, with Aryan Chauhan/Karan Singh combining to knock out second seeds Madhwin Kamath/Rohan Mehra 6-3, 3-6, 10-7.
In the boys’ U-18 draw, top seed Praneel Sharma scored a 6-0, 6-3 win over Sarthak Gaikwad to reach the round of 16. Third seed Harsh Malik was upset in the second round, while fourth seed Om Patel, and fifth seed Mor, also advancing to the last 16.
In the girls’ U-18 draw, top seed S Bhuvaneswaran and third seed Shreeniti Chowdhury scored comfortable wins to reach the third round.
Published - October 07, 2026 02:12 am IST