Pune (Maharashtra): Indian wildcard entry Sasikumar Mukund put on a brilliant display of tennis to trounce British qualifier Felix Gill in just 51 minutes and advance to the quarter-finals of the PMRDA MahaOpen ATP Challenger 100 Men’s International Tennis Championships at the Mhalunge Balewadi Tennis complex here on Wednesday.
The tournament has been organised by Maharashtra State Lawn Tennis Association (MSLTA). Mukund, ranked 457th in the world, defeated Gill, ranked more than 100 places above him at No 344, for the loss of just one game and advanced to the last eight with a 6-1, 6-0 win.
It is the second time in three events in India that Mukund has made the quarter finals and he will next meet third seed Adam Walton of Australia . The Australian Walton won an ATP Challenger title in Burnie earlier this month, overcame a tough challenge from Chinese Taipei’s Tung-Lin Wu 6-7, 6-7 (5), 7-6 (4) in a 2 hour 40 minute match to move into the quarter-finals.
Fourth seed Valetin Vacherot and Frenchman Enzo Couacaudwill will clash in another quarter-final on Friday. Vacherot, who represents Monaco, scored a comfortable 6-1, 6-2 win over Australian Tristian Schoolkate while Couacaud advanced when fifth seed Dalibor Svrcina, of the Czech Republic, retired while trailing 6-4, 7-5, 1-4.