Bengaluru, Jan 4 (IANS) The S.M. Krishna Tennis Stadium witnessed edge-of-the-seat action on Sunday as the first round of qualifying matches got underway at the 10th Bengaluru Open 2026.

India’s Sidharth Rawat booked his place in the final round of qualifying with a composed 6-3, 7-5 victory over compatriot Nitin Kumar Sinha. Rawat set the tone early, claiming the opening set with confidence. Sinha mounted a strong fightback in the second set and broke Rawat’s serve to take the lead, but Rawat responded with two timely breaks of his own to close out the match in straight sets.

In other first-round qualifying encounters, Indians Dev Javia and Adil Kalyanpur put up spirited performances but were edged out in three-set battles by higher-ranked opponents Dominik Palan and Eero Vasa respectively.

Also advancing to the final round of qualifying, scheduled for Monday morning, were Kuan-Yi Lee (Chinese Taipei), Ryotaro Taguchi and Jumpei Yamasaki (Japan), Mitsuki Wei Kang Leong (Malaysia), Aziz Ouakaa (Tunisia), Niels Visker (Netherlands), and Frenchmen Arthur Reymond and Felix Balshaw.

Later on Sunday, Ukraine’s Yurii Dzhavakian was set to face France’s Alexis Gautier to conclude the opening day of qualifying at the tournament.

Main draw action will begin on Monday afternoon, with local fans in for an exciting lineup. Wildcard entrant Manas Dhamne will take on fifth seed Matej Dodig of Croatia, followed by a marquee all-Indian clash between former champion Sumit Nagal and local favourite S.D. Prajwal Dev. .

–IANS

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