Agencies
Shanghai, Oct 13: Leander Paes playing with John Peers, his 104th partner in men’s doubles, made a winning start to his campaign here Tuesday. The Indo-Australian combo defeated Tommy Robredo and Andrea Seppi 6-3, 6-4 in a match that lasted 56 minutes.
The second-seeded pair broke their opponents’ serves thrice during the match, while facing two breakpoints on their own serve which they survived. Overall, they were the much superior pair and never really faced any trouble from their unseeded
opponents.
Myneni advances
Meanwhile at Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, Saketh Myneni was the only Indian to progress to the second round of the Vietnam Open even as Sumit Nagal put up a valiant fight before losing his first round match Tuesday. Myneni defeated Spain’s Gerard Granollers 6-4, 7-6 (7-3) in the first round of the USD 50,000 ATP Hard Court Challenger event.
Nagal and Jeevan Nedunchezhiyan however bowed out after suffering first round defeats. Playing against third seed and World No. 135 Adrian Menendez-Maceiras, Indian wild card Nagal lost 0-6, 7-6 (7-2), 1-6 in a gruelling first round tie that lasted two hours and 36 minutes. However, left-hander Nedunchezhiyan, who qualified for the main draw, lost tamely 2-6, 2-6 to Japan’s Hiroyasu Ehara.
Myneni had raced to a 4-1 lead in the second set but the Spaniard won four of the next five games to make it 5-5 and stretched the issue to a tie-breaker.
Myneni, though, ensured his passage to the next round by playing solidly in the tie-breaker. “It was a tough match as the conditions were not easy. It was very humid,” he stated.
Shocking loss
Meanwhile at Tashkent Divij Sharan and his Canadian partner Adil Shamasdin were handed an upset defeat Tuesday by unseeded duo of Radu Albot of Moldavia and Lithuania’s Ricardas Berankis in straight sets in the men’s doubles first round of the USD 1,25000 Tashkent ATP Challenger. The fourth-seeded Indo-Canadian pair went down 2-6, 4-6 against their unseeded rivals to bow out of the tournament.