Bengaluru Open: Dhakshineswar Suresh dominates with impregnable serve to stun Ajdukovic

Bengaluru: Dhakshineswar Suresh came up with a power-packed performance to oust Croatia’s Duje Ajdukovic 6-4, 6-4 in the opening round of the Bengaluru Open ATP Challenger 125 at the S.M. Krishna Stadium here on Tuesday.

It did not matter that Ajdukovic was nearly 200 ranking places better off (329 to Dhakshineswar’s 521), and was a three-time ATP Challenger titlist. Dhakshineswar, who plays for the Wake Forest University in the US collegiate system, had just 10 Challenger matches under his belt, having won five of those and none in India.

Yet, the 25-year-old wildcard was confidence personified, serving 20 aces, winning 34 of 38 first-serve points and not facing a single break-point in a contest that lasted just four seconds shy of an hour.

Dhakshineswar’s effort continued his recent purple patch that has seen him register a memorable win in the Davis Cup World Group I tie against Switzerland last September where he beat a player ranked more than 450 places above him, and win a set against Daniil Medvedev in the World Tennis League (WTL) exhibition. Agencies

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