Dhakshineswar Suresh powers into Round of 16 at Bengaluru Open

BENGALURU: Dakshineswar Suresh began his campaign at the Bengaluru Open 2026 in emphatic fashion on Tuesday, cruising past Croatia’s Duje Ajdukovic 6-4, 6-4 to book his spot in the Round of 16.

The six-foot-six-inch-tall Indian was in complete control throughout the contest at the S M Krishna Tennis Stadium here, anchoring his performance around a dominant first serve that produced 20 aces, allowing him to dictate terms from the outset, as per a release.

Suresh, who made his Davis Cup debut for India last year, made an immediate impact by earning an early break of serve in the opening set, applying sustained pressure on Ajdukovic’s delivery with deep returns. Backed by a reliable serve and clean ball-striking from the baseline, he comfortably consolidated the advantage to close out the set 6-4.

The second set saw Ajdukovic tighten up on serve, but Suresh remained patient in the rallies and seized his opportunity in the fifth game, breaking through with a series of aggressive forehands. From there, he showed immense composure, holding serve with authority to seal a straight-sets victory.

“I really love the place and the conditions. Today, I just aimed to go in there and play my game style and not worry about it, control my control-ables. My serve is definitely one of the biggest weapons, I’ve been working on it a lot the past few years so, I’m happy that I could rely on it today. In the next match as well, I will try to do the same thing, control the control-ables and we will see what happens,” Suresh commented after the match, as quoted from the release.

Meanwhile, Croatia’s Borna Gojo and Kazakhstan’s Beibit Zhukayev overcame Indian challenges in their respective matches, defeating Karan Singh 6-2, 6-4 and Aryan Shah 6-1, 6-2, respectively.

Germany’s Cedrik-Marcel Stebe produced a strong comeback to overcome seventh seed Max Houkes of the Netherlands 4-6, 6-3, 6-1 and move into the Round of 16. Ukraine’s Eric Vanshelboim, Malaysia’s Mitsuki Wei Kang Leong and France’s Felix Balshaw also progressed earlier in the day.

In the doubles, Indian duo Saketh Myneni and Adil Kalyanpur edged past South Africa’s Lloyd Harris and India’s Sumit Nagal in a tight contest, winning 7-6(3), 4-6, 13-11. Third seeds Arthur Reymond and Luca Sanchez of France, along with Colombia’s Nicolas Barrientos and American Benjamin Kittay, also advanced to the doubles quarter-finals. (ANI)