Teenager Manas Dhamne stuns fifth seed Matej Dodig on opening day of Bengaluru Open

Bengaluru, Jan 5 (PTI) Manas Damne, the 18-year-old from Satara, produced a stunning upset on the opening day of the Bengaluru Open, defeating fifth seed Matej Dodig 7-5, 4-6, 6-1 to book his place in the Round of 16 here on Monday.

Displaying remarkable composure and maturity, the teenager won 78 per cent of points on his first serve (42/54) and an impressive 75 per cent of net points (6/8) to seal the biggest scalp of his young career in terms of ranking.

Dhamne applied early pressure on Dodig in the opening set and, despite resistance from the Croatian, closed it out 7-5.

Dodig responded strongly in the second set, securing an early break and going on to level the match.

However, the Indian teenager stayed calm and assertive in the decider, breaking Dodig’s serve twice to establish a commanding lead. With well-placed shots and capitalising on some unforced errors from Dodig, Dhaamne wrapped up the deciding set convincingly.

Meanwhile, India No. 1 and former Bengaluru Open champion Sumit Nagal registered a straightforward victory over compatriot SD Prajwal Dev. After being broken early, Nagal regrouped quickly to claim a 6-3, 6-3 win and move into the Round of 16.

Elsewhere, France’s Matteo Martineau mounted an impressive comeback to defeat third seed Jay Clarke 4-6, 6-1, 6-2. Second seed Harold Mayot, sixth seed Timofey Skatov and Dan Martin also progressed to the next round with wins on Monday.

Earlier in the day, Frenchmen Alexis Gautier and Felix Belshaw, Finland’s Eero Vasa, Dutchman Niels Visker, Malaysian Mitsuki Wei Kang Leong, Tunisia’s Aziz Ouakaa and Kazakhstan's Timofey Skatov secured their places in the main draw after navigating the final round of qualifiers. PTI PDS PDS BS BS