Delhi Open 2025: Niki Poonacha/John Lock Rally To Victory As Double Battles Start

Delhi Open 2025: Niki Poonacha/John Lock rally to victory as double battles start (Image Source: IANS)

Delhi Lawn Tennis Association: India’s Niki Poonacha and Zimbabwe’s Courtney Lock kicked off their Delhi Open 2025 doubles campaign with a hard-fought 2-6, 7-6(5), 10-6 victory over Czech duo Marek Gengel and Dalibor Svrcina at the DLTA Complex here on Wednesday. The second seeds endured a tough opening set but fought back in a tense tiebreaker before sealing the win in a decisive match tiebreak.

Organised by the All-India Tennis Association (AITA) and the Delhi Lawn Tennis Association, the Delhi Open 2025 is an ATP Challenger 75 tournament played on hard courts with USD 100,000 as prize money on offer. The winners of the singles and doubles events also rake in 75 crucial ATP points.

Following the withdrawal of top seeds, Blake Ellis and Tristan Schoolkate, Poonacha and Lock are now the highest-ranked pair remaining in the draw. Their replacements, India’s Parth Aggarwal and Sidharth Rawat, fell in their opener to Enzo Couacaud and Kelsey Stevenson.

In the singles event, Mukund Sasikumar's run came to an end with a 6-4, 6-3 loss to Belgium’s Michael Geerts in the Round of 16. Meanwhile, third seed Tristan Schoolkate endured a gruelling, three-hour battle against Valentin Vacherot, eventually winning 7-6, 3-6, 6-4.

Qualifier Andre Ilagan's impressive run continued as the United States of America player stunned eighth seed Timofey Skatov with a 6-2, 6-3 victory. Furthermore, France’s Kyrian Jacquet blanked Jay Clarke of the United Kingdom in a straightforward 7-5, 6-3 win.

In other doubles results, third seeds Clarke and Johannes Ingildsen eased past Siddarth Banthia and Parikshit Somani in straight sets, while Shintaro Mochizuki and Kaito Uesugi overcame Ramkumar Ramanathan and Karan Singh in a thrilling 3-6, 6-1, 10-7 contest.

Qualifier Andre Ilagan's impressive run continued as the United States of America player stunned eighth seed Timofey Skatov with a 6-2, 6-3 victory. Furthermore, France’s Kyrian Jacquet blanked Jay Clarke of the United Kingdom in a straightforward 7-5, 6-3 win.

Article Source: IANS