Indian pair of N. Sriram Balaji and Jeevan Nedunchezhiyan pulled off one of the major upsets of the fifth edition of the Tata Open Maharashtra, beating the No. 2 seed American duo Jackson Withrow and Nathaniel Lammons 7-6 (6), 7-6 (5) in the doubles quarter-finals at the Balewadi Stadium in Pune on Thursday.
Balaji and Jeevan, who entered the tournament as an alternative entry, put up a sensational show in both sets which saw close competition before they decided in the tie-breakers.
The American pair gave their all to take the match into the final tie-breaker but the Indians did enough to get the result in their favour at the end of the second set. Balaji and Jeevan ended 2022 with six successive semi-finals appearances at the Challenger events.
Hon’ble Deputy Chief Minister of Maharashtra Shri Devendra Fadnavis visited the stadium and watched the exciting action of the quarter-final matches. He vowed they Maharashtra government won’t allow the ATP 250 tournament to move anywhere in the country after the ongoing success in Pune.
“I am very happy to be here, my best wishes to the tournament, all the players, who are participating and to all who will be watching. This tournament will be a huge success,” said the Hon’ble Deputy Chief Minister of Maharashtra Shri Devendra Fadnavis.
Later on Thursday, India’s Ramkumar Ramanathan, along with partner Miguel Angel Reyes-Varela, suffered a 2-6, 1-6 loss against the top-seeded pair of Rajeev Ram and Joe Salisbury in the other doubles quarter-final.
Earlier, the 2014 US Open champion Marin Cilic pulled out of the tournament after suffering a knee injury as his opponent, Tallon Griekspoor was given a walkover in the singles Round-of-8.
“Hey guys, very sorry that I couldn’t come out again today to compete. Today, during the warm-up, I injured my knee and unfortunately it didn’t get better until I was about to go out on the court. Thanks to the fans for the great support this week, it was fantastic. I’m looking forward to returning to India in the future to compete over here again,” the World No. 17 Cilic said in his statement.
In the other singles quarter-finals, World No. 59 Aslan Karatsev registered a dominating 6-1, 6-2 victory against the World No. 63 Pedro Martinez whereas No. 2 seed Botic van de Zandschulp thrashed the qualifier Maximilian Marterer 6-4, 6-2.
The ongoing edition of South Asia’s only ATP 250 event is being conducted by the Maharashtra State Lawn Tennis Association (MSLTA) in association with the Government of Maharashtra for the fifth year in Pune.
The tournament final is set to take place on January 7.
Tata Open Maharashtra Streaming Details:
Tata Open Maharashtra can be watched on TV in the Sports18 – 1 SD, Sports18 – 1 HD channels. The tournament matches can also be live-streamed for FREE through JioCinema app and JioCinema website.
About Post Author
