The Mumbai $25K ITF Tennis Championships, organised by the Maharashtra State Lawn Tennis Association (MSLTA), commenced at the Dr. G.A. Ranade Tennis Centre in Mumbai on Tuesday, March 17, offering Indian players a golden opportunity to earn valuable ATP points and prize money.

Local wildcard Arnav Paparkar, India’s Under-18 No. 1 player, made an impressive start by reaching the second round of the Men’s Singles event after his opponent, Grigoriy Lomakin, retired while trailing 2-6, 1-5. The day also saw further success for Indian players, with seventh seed Sasikumar Mukund securing a 7-5, 6-3 victory over Thailand’s James Van Herzeele. Ishaque Eqbal advanced comfortably, defeating wildcard Raghav Jaisinghani 6-3, 6-2, while Sidharth Rawat outclassed wildcard Caheer Warik 6-1, 6-2.

Earlier, in the final round of qualifying on Monday, Indian players demonstrated their potential. Aniketh Venkatraman staged a notable upset against experienced player Vishnu Vardhan, winning 4-6, 6-1, 10-5. Meanwhile, tenth-seeded Arjun Rathi battled through a tough match against third-seeded Rohan Mehra, ultimately triumphing 4-6, 7-6(4), 10-5. Eleventh seed Udit Kamboj defeated seventh seed Kabir Hans 7-5, 6-1, while Tarun Karra secured his place in the main draw with a 7-5, 6-4 victory over Russian Ianin Nikita.

The Doubles opening round also saw Indian pairs delivering strong performances. Top seeds Jeevan Nedunchezhiyan and Ramkumar Ramanathan led the way with a 6-2, 6-3 victory over fellow countrymen Kabir Hans and Maan Keshrwani. Aditya Balsekar and Vishnu Vardhan caused a significant upset, defeating second seeds Brian Bozemoj and Stijn Pel of the Netherlands 6-3, 6-1. Chirag Duhan and Dev Javia overcame third seeds, the Indo-Kazakhstan duo of Ishaque Eqbal and Grigoriy Lomakin, in a hard-fought three-set match, 6-4, 6-7(5), 10-4. Digvijay Pratap Singh and Jagmeet Singh rallied to defeat fourth seeds, the France-Indian pair Florent Bax and Karan Singh, in another enthralling contest decided in a third-set super tie-break, 6-7(7), 6-2, 10-6.

Commenting on the tournament, which is being held for the third consecutive year by the All India Tennis Association (AITA) as part of a series of Men’s ITF events to further enhance the competitive landscape for local talent, AITA Joint Secretary and MSLTA Honorary Secretary Sunder Iyer emphasised its significance.

He highlighted that the prestigious ITF tournament offers Indian players up to 50 ATP points for winning the Men’s Singles title, with runners-up earning 30 points and semi-finalists 18 points, thereby incentivising performance and improving international rankings.

Supreeth Kadavigere has been appointed ITF Supervisor of the event, while Manoj Vaidya serves as Tournament Director.

Results (Main Draw)

Singles (First Round):

• Sasikumar Mukund (7)(IND) bt James Van Herzeele (THA) 7-5, 6-3
• Ishaque Eqbal (IND) bt (WC) Raghav Jaisinghani (IND) 6-3, 6-2
• Sidharth Rawat (IND) bt (WC) Caheer Warik (IND) 6-1, 6-2
• (WC) Arnav Paparkar (IND) bt Grigoriy Lomakin (KAZ) 6-2, 5-1 (Retd)
• Yurii Dzhavakian (UKR) bt Brian Bozemoj (NED) 4-6, 7-6(3), 7-6(4)

Doubles (First Round):

• Jeevan Nedunchezhiyan/Ramkumar Ramanathan (IND)(1) bt Kabir Hans/Maan Keshrwani (IND) 6-2, 6-3
• Rohan Mehra/Sidharth Rawat (IND) bt A Shanmugam/Manish Sureshkumar (IND) 6-3, 7-6(5)
• Chirag Duhan/Dev Javia (IND) bt Ishaque Eqbal (IND)/Grigoriy Lomakin (KAZ)(3) 6-4, 6-7(5), 10-4
• Digvijay Pratap Singh/Jagmeet Singh (IND) bt Florent Bax (FRA)/Karan Singh (IND)(4) 6-7(7), 6-2, 10-6
• Aditya Balsekar/Vishnu Vardhan (IND) bt Brian Bozemoj/Stijn Pel (NED)(2) 6-3, 6-1

Singles (Final Qualifying Round):

• Chirag Duhan (1)(IND) bt Sandesh Kurale (IND) 6-2, 6-1
• Stijn Pel (13)(NED) bt James Van Herzeele (2)(THA) 7-6(3), 6-3
• Arjun Rathi (10)(IND) bt Rohan Mehra (3)(IND) 4-6, 7-6(4), 10-5
• Aniketh Venkatraman (IND) bt Vishnu Vardhan (4)(IND) 4-6, 6-1, 10-5
• Aditya Balsekar (5)(IND) bt Parth Agarwal (14)(IND) 6-2, 6-2
• Abhinav Shanmugan (6)(IND) bt Hitesh Chauhan (12)(IND) 6-3, 6-4