Indian tennis players Dhakshineswar Suresh and Sumit Nagal made winning starts in their men’s singles campaigns at the Asian Games, albeit in contrasting styles, securing places in the pre-quarterfinals on Tuesday. India’s rising star Dhakshineswar got the better of Indonesia’s Gunawan Trismuwantara 7-5 7-6(2) in his second round, while Nagal got past South Korea’s Seongchan Hong 6-4 6-0 in his rain-interrupted match. Dhakshineswar, who received a bye in the opening round, held his nerve in a closely fought contest to seal the match in one hour and 25 minutes.
It turned out to be a closer than expected contest as there is a huge gulf between the ranking of the two players. While the Indian is ranked 364, Trismuwantara is placed outside 2000.
Dhakshineswar will also feature in the men’s doubles later in the day, partnering Yuki Bhambri.
Meanwhile, Nagal, who lost both his Davis Cup matches in Seoul, finally managed to beat a Korean. His match lasted three hours and four minutes, across two days.
His next opponent is Uzbekistan’s Sergey Fomin.
“Today was a challenging day for both players, with the weather causing a start-stop match and the shift from outdoor to indoor courts, match started yesterday, finished today,” India coach Ashutosh Singh told PTI.
“With four courts running side by side and a lot happening around the competition area, it wasn’t an easy environment, although the organizers are doing their best.
“Sumit took a little time to settle in, but once he found his rhythm and took control, he played really well, especially when he was ahead. Pro players have to adjust to the conditions and circumstances in front of them,” Singh added.
Later in the day, the men’s doubles team of Anirudh Chandrasekar and N Sriram Balaji will take on Nepal’s Abhishek Bastola and Pradip Khadka.
Balaji will also compete in mixed doubles with Ankita Raina. They play the Hong Kong team of Eudice Chong and Kairan Thompson.
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