Adil Kalyanpur and Mukund Sasikumar delighted the home crowd by clinching their first doubles title as individuals and as a pair at the ATP Challenger 50 tennis tournament in Bengaluru. The Indian duo defeated Petr Bar Biryukov and Grigoriy Lomakin of Kazakhstan in a thrilling final, winning 6-7(3), 6-4, 10-3.
The unseeded Indian pair showcased resilience after losing the first set in a tie-break, bouncing back strongly in the second set to force a super tie-breaker. Their stellar performance secured the victory on home turf at the SM Krishna KSLTA Tennis Stadium.
In earlier matches, Kalyanpur and Mukund upset fourth-seeded Japanese pair Kokoro Isomura and Ryuki Matsuda to reach the semi-finals. They continued their winning streak by defeating second seeds Charles Barry of Ireland and Joshua Charlton of Australia in straight sets to advance to the final.
Meanwhile, India’s Niki Kaliyanda Poonacha and Saketh Myneni faced a defeat in the semi-finals against Biryukov and Lomakin. Mukund also showcased his talent in singles, delivering a spirited performance against Great Britain’s Alastair Gray in the quarter-finals before narrowly losing after a grueling match lasting two hours and 40 minutes.
The singles title was claimed by Petr Bar Biryukov, who emerged victorious against Belarusian Ilya Ivashka in a closely contested final. The SM Krishna Memorial Open witnessed intense matches, with former top-50 player Ilya Ivashka and Petr Bar Biryukov showcasing exceptional performances in the lead-up to the finals.
The tournament marked the third Challenger event hosted in Bengaluru this year, following the Bengaluru Open in January and the recently concluded Karnataka Open.
