Teenager Dhamne beat Matej Dodig of Croatia in three sets while India No. 1 Sumit Nagal defeated fellow Indian SD Prajwal Dev 6-3, 6-3.
The Bengaluru Open 2026 tennis main draw got off to a high-octane start as teenager Manas Dhamne pulled off a big first-round upset, while Olympian Sumit Nagal advanced comfortably to the second round on Monday.
Dhamne, 556th in the ATP rankings, stunned fifth seed Matej Dodig of Croatia (world No. 231) 7-5, 4-6, 6-1 at the KSLTA Stadium to book his place in the round of 16 of the ATP Challenger 125 event.
The 18-year-old Indian tennis player won 78 per cent of points on his first serve (42/54) and claimed six of the eight points at the net to register the most significant win of his young career (in terms of opponent ranking).
Meanwhile, India No. 1 Sumit Nagal also progressed to the last 16 with a straight-sets win.
Nagal, a two-time Olympian and former Bengaluru Open champion, regrouped after an early break to defeat fellow Indian SD Prajwal Dev 6-3, 6-3.
Currently ranked 275th in the world, Nagal, the 2017 champion, is the tournament’s biggest local draw. He will face the second seed Harold Mayot of France in the next round.
Elsewhere in the main draw, France’s Matteo Martineau rallied from a set down to knock out third seed Jay Clarke of Great Britain 4-6, 6-1, 6-2. Sixth seed Timofey Skatov and Canada’s Dan Martin also moved into the next round with wins.
India’s singles challenge at the Bengaluru Open extends beyond Nagal and Dhamne, with Karan Singh and Aryan Shah set to begin their singles campaigns later in the tournament.
On Sunday, three-time Bengaluru Open doubles champion Ramkumar Ramanathan suffered a singles loss, going down 7-5, 7(7)-6(3) to France’s Arthur Reymond in the first round of qualifiers.
India’s Sidharth Rawat fell in the final qualifying round, losing 6-4, 6-4 to Gautier after earlier defeating compatriot Nitin Kumar Sinha on Sunday.
The Bengaluru Open tennis tournament will conclude on January 10.
Bengaluru Open 2026: Day 1 results
Round of 32
- Manas Dhamne (IND) bt Matej Dodig (CRO) 7-5, 6-4, 6-1
- Sumit Nagal (IND) bt Prajwal Dev (IND) 6-3, 6-3
- Matteo Martineau (FRA) bt Jay Clarke (GBR) 4-6, 6-1, 6-2
- Harold Mayot (FRA) bt Petr Bar Biryukov 6-1, 6-4
- Dan Martin (CAN) bt Vladyslav Orlov (UKR) 6-7(4), 7-5, 6-4
- Timofey Skatov (KAZ) bt Neil Oberleitner (AUT) 6-3, 6-3
Final qualifying round
- Alexis Gautier (FRA) bt Sidharth Rawat (IND) 6-4, 6-4
- Eero Vasa (FIN) bt Arthur Reymond (FRA) 6-2, 6-3
- Niels Visker (NED) bt Dominik Palan (CZE) 6-2, 6-7(5), 7-6(5)
- Mitsuki Wei Kang Leong (MAS) bt Kuan-Yi Lee (TEI) 7-5, 6-3
- Aziz Ouakaa (TUN) bt Ryotaro Taguchi (JPN) 2-6, 6-4, 6-3
- Felix Balshaw (FRA) bt Jumpei Yamasaki (JPN) 6-2, 3-6, 6-2
READ MORE: https://www.olympics.com/en/news/bengaluru-open-2026-tennis-day-1-report
