Saketh Myneni was on Thursday awarded the final singles wild card for the USD 150,000 Bengaluru Open, which kicks off at KSLTA from Saturday with a qualifying event.
“We are happy to confirm the wild card to Saketh, who has emerged as a revelation to Indian tennis. He has had a phenomenal jump in the rankings in the last few years and went on to represent India in the Davis Cup apart from a stellar performance in the Asian Games,” tournament director Sunil Yajman said.
“The Bengaluru Open just got strengthened with Saketh’s participation and I am sure the spectators will enjoy his booming serves,” added Yajman.
Before Myneni, defending champion Sumit Nagal, 2017 National runner-up Suraj Prabodh, and local boy Adil Kalyanpur were given the wild cards for main draw.
“Firstly, a big congratulation to all the organisers for making the Bengaluru Open bigger than the previous year. It is one of the biggest challenger tournaments in Asia and it will be a great opportunity for all the Indian players as well as tennis fans,” said Myneni.
“On a personal note, a big thank you to the organisers for believing in me and giving me a wild card to the main draw. I hope to utilise this opportunity and perform to the best of my abilities,” he said.
The lanky Vizag player, who won Arjuna Award last year, had made the doubles semi-final at the Shenzhen Challenger with partner Ramkumar Ramanathan.
He is currently ranked 315 in singles on the ATP ranking list after starting the year outside top-600. He is ranked 213 in doubles.