Indian Tennis wrap: Ramanathan, Myneni advance in Seoul, Raina bows out in Gifu

India’s Ramkumar Ramanathan and Saketh Myneni registered straight-set victories in the Round of 32 in the ATP Challenger event in Seouls on Wednesday. While Ramanathan 6-3, 7-6 won against Nam Ji-sung, Myneni defeated Hiroki Moriya 6-2, 6-1. It was curtains for N Sriram Balaji, though, as he lost 7-6 (5), 3-6, 4-6, to Yasutaka Uchiyama.

Ramanathan also progressed to the quarter-finals of the men’s doubles at the same event. He combined with his partner Brayden Schnur to defeat Balaji and Jonathan Erlich 6-4, 7-6. Vishnu Vardhan, too, suffered a defeat in the men’s doubles Round of 16 in Seoul. He and his partner Evgeny Donskoy lost 4-6, 2-6, to Max Purcell and Luke Saville.

There was disappointment for India No 1 Ankita Raina as she bowed out in the Round of 32 at the ITF $80,000 event in Gifu, Japan. The 26-year-old suffered a heavy 0-6, 3-6 defeat against Kurumi Nara. Raina also lost in the Round of 16 in the women’s doubles. She and her partner Hiroko Kuwata lost 2-6, 2-6 to Zhu Lin and Ayaka Okuno.

Seasoned doubles player Rohan Bopanna lost to compatriot Divij Sharan in the ATP 250 event in Munich, Germany. Sharan and his partner Marcelo Demoliner defeated Bopanna and Dominic Inglot 6-3, 3-6, 12-10 in the Round of 16.

In the ATP Challenger event in Svannah, India’s Sumit Nagal achieved a hard-fought 6-7, 6-2, 7-5, victory over Juan Pablo Varillas in the Round of 64.

More results from ITF Women events

• Rutuja Bhosale defeated Ilona-Georgiana Ghioroaie 6-4, 6-3 in the Round of 32 of the ITF $25,000 event in Namangan, Uzbekistan. Pranjala Yadlapalli, however, lost in the same round to Gergana Topalova. The Indian retired in the third set when the score read 3-6, 6-0, 3-4.
• In the ITF $15,000 event in Antalya, Turkey, India’s Jennifer Luikham combined with Ramu Ueda to defeat Nicole Khirin and Sofiya Haydee 6-2, 6-1 in the women’s doubles Round of 16.
• Saumya Vig registered a 6-1, 7-5 win over Ilaria Sposetti in the Round of 32 at the ITF $15,000 event in Cairo, Egypt. Vig also progressed to the quarter-finals of the women’s doubles. She and her partner Katya Malikova defeated Farah Khalil and Shaaban Zeina 6-1, 6-2. Also making it to the women’s doubles quarter-finals was Sravya Shivani Chilakalapudi. She and her partner Lamis Alhussein Abdel Aziz defeated Anastasia Zolotareva and Anna Makhorkina 6-4, 6-4. India’s Niditra Rajmohan, however, lost in the Round of 16. She and her partner Tamara Bizhukova went down to Elena Milovanovic and Ilaria Sposetti 6-0, 6-1.