Indian tennis players Karan Singh and Aryan Shah suffered losses and bowed out in the opening round.
India’s Dakshineswar Suresh advanced to the second round of the men’s singles event at the Bengaluru Open 2026 tennis tournament with a win over higher-ranked Duje Ajdukovic of Croatia at the KSLTA Stadium on Tuesday.
Suresh, 419th in the ATP rankings, defeated world No. 329 Ajdukovic 6-4, 6-4 to book his place in the round of 16 of the ATP Challenger 125 event.
The 25-year-old, 6’6’’ tall Indian tennis player was in complete control throughout the contest, anchoring his performance around a dominant first serve that produced 20 aces.
Suresh, who made his Davis Cup debut for India last year, made an immediate impact by earning an early break of serve in the opening set and consolidated the advantage to take the lead.
The second set saw Ajdukovic tighten up on serve but Suresh remained patient and seized his opportunity in the fifth game, breaking through with a series of aggressive forehands. From there, he held his serve with authority to seal a straight-sets victory.
“My serve is definitely one of the biggest weapons. I’ve been working on it a lot the past few years, so I’m happy that I could rely on it today,” Suresh said after the match.
Meanwhile, Croatia’s Borna Gojo and Kazakhstan’s Beibit Zhukayev overcame Indian challenges in their respective matches, defeating Karan Singh 6-2, 6-4 and Aryan Shah 6-1, 6-2, respectively.
Germany’s Cedrik-Marcel Stebe produced a strong comeback to overcome seventh seed Max Houkes of the Netherlands 4-6, 6-3, 6-1 and move into the round of 16. Ukraine’s Eric Vanshelboim, Malaysia’s Mitsuki Wei Kang Leong and France’s Felix Balshaw also progressed earlier in the day.
Doubles action got underway at the SM Krishna Tennis Stadium with Indian duo Saketh Myneni and Adil Kalyanpur edging past South Africa’s Lloyd Harris and India’s Sumit Nagal in a tight contest, winning 7-6(3), 4-6, 13-11.
Third seeds Arthur Reymond and Luca Sanchez of France, along with Colombia’s Nicolas Barrientos and American Benjamin Kittay, also advanced to the doubles quarter-finals.
On Monday, India’s No. 1 singles player Sumit Nagal and 18-year-old Manas Dhamne also progressed to the last 16 with a straight-sets win.
The Bengaluru Open tennis tournament will conclude on January 10.
Bengaluru Open 2026: Day 2 results
Singles round of 32
- Dhakshineswar Suresh (IND) bt Duje Ajdukovic (CRO) 6-4, 6-4
- Borna Gojo (CRO) bt Karan Singh (IND) 6-2, 6-4
- Beibit Zhukayev (KAZ) bt Aryan Shah (IND) 6-1, 6-2
- Cedrik-Marcel Stebe (GER) bt Max Houkes (NED) 4-6, 6-3, 6-1
- Eric Vanshelbolm (UKR) bt Niels Visker (NED) 3-6, 6-2, 6-4
- Mitsuki Wei Kang Leong (MAS) bt Aziz Ouakaa (TUN) 6-2, 6-2
- Felix Balshaw (FRA) bt Benjamin Hassan (LBN) 6-4, 6-1
Doubles round of 16
- Saketh Myneni/Adil Kalyanpur (IND) bt Llyod Harris (RSA)/ Sumit Nagal (IND) 7-6(3), 4-6, 13-11
- Arthur Reymond/Luca Sanchez (FRA) bt Masamichi Imamura/Ryuki Matsuda (JPN) 4-6, 6-3, 10-8
- Nicolas Barrientos (COL)/Benjamin Jittay (USA) bt Matteo Martineau (FRA)/Beibit Zhukayev (KAZ) 7-5, 6-3
READ MORE: https://www.olympics.com/en/news/bengaluru-open-2026-tennis-day-2-report
