Wildcard Dhakshineswar stuns Ajdukovic to reach Bengaluru Open second round

Bengaluru: Wildcard entrant Dhakshineswar Suresh was a treat to watch with his explosive game as he sailed into the second round with a straight-set victory over higher-ranked Croatian Duje Ajdukovic 6-4, 6-4 at the Bengaluru Open on Saturday.

Meanwhile, two other Indians in action on the day, Karan Singh and Aryan Shah, made first-round exit against higher-ranked rivals, taking the list of Indian casualties to three out of six at the KSLTA's SM Krishna Tennis Stadium. 

World No. 466, Karan, lost to burly Croat Borna Gojo (No.293) who made short work of his opponent with a 6-2, 6-4 win. No. 398 Aryan played below his own set high standards to fall to Kazakh No. 277 Beibit Zhukayev 6-1, 6-2. 

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However, following the two lopsided home defeats on the centre court, world No. 521 Dhakshineswar -- who made appearance at the venue during the World Tennis League -- came as a breath of fresh air much like teenager Manas Dhamne the opening day as the 6'5'' Indian capitalised on a shaky opening service game of Ajdukovic (No. 329) for an early break. 

The 25-year-old wildcard -- a student of Wake Forest University in US collegiate -- then showcased the hours of practice on his service game. His first serves had pinpoint accuracy on most occasions, and a few times that missed, he was equally aggressive with second serves while notching up a remarkable xx aces over the two sets, including a kick serve that left Ajdukovic flabbergasted.

While the service game was refreshing to watch for an Indian player in the singles circuit, the confidence in Dhakshineswar's game was telling as his 24-year-old Croat rival tried testing the lanky Indian with an array of returns while mixing the pace and the Madurai-born had answer to all of it. 

What further stood him apart was his anticipation of his opponent's movement and returns. There was no rush in his game either as Dhakshineswar patiently held on to his serves throughout the first set in a quality display of tennis to take the first set 6-4 against a former ATP No. 105.  

There still remained a lingering question if the Indian will be as effective if Ajdukovic managed to push him in the second set. That moment arrived soon in the fourth game when the European rival took a 30-0 lead off Dhakshineswar's serve. He responded with his forte to take the game without further blip.

It was quite clear by now that Dhakshineswar got under his rival's skin as he broke Adjukovic in the next game while holding the baseline well as his opponent tried too many things and turned error prone. 

Sensing his opportunity of a kill, the Indian showed some urgency for the first time as he started attacking his rival more and was comfortably gaining an upperhand while returning too. However, Adjukovic managed to win the mini battle of keeping his serve only to delay the inevitable as Dhakshineswar sealed the match on his serve.

Results: Day 2: Singles: Round 1 (Indians unless mentioned): Aryan Shah (Ind) lt to Beibit Zhukayev (Kaz) 1-6, 2-6; Borna Gojo (Cro) bt Karan Singh 6-2, 6-4; Niels Visker (NED) lt to Eric Vanshelboim (Ukr) 6-3, 2-6, 4-6; Cedrik-Marcel Stebe (Ger) bt 7xMax Houkes (NED) 4-6, 6-3, 6-1; Alexis Gautier (Fra) bt Michael Geerts (Bel).