Mukund, Myneni advance in Bengaluru Open

India's Sasikumar Mukund and Saket Myneni entered the men's singles second round of the Bengaluru Open AT Challenger with contrasting wins over their respective rivals here on Monday.

In a re-match of the 2018 edition, Mukund beat Slovenian Blaz Kavcic 2-6 6-3 6-4 to move into the second round of the USD 162,500 Challenger event at the Karnataka State Lawn Tennis Association (KSLTA).

Also advancing to the second round was Myneni, runner-up at the last edition of the Bengaluru Open, who scored a clinical 6-3 6-3 win over his Russian rival Aslan Karatsev.

Blaz, who is slightly ranked higher than Mukund at 275, began in the right earnest and looked set for an easy victory as he raced to a 4-0 lead with breaks in the first and third games.

However, the Indian showed semblance of a comeback winning the next two games, but it lasted just a while as he committed too many unforced errors to lose the first set.

"I don't know what was going on in my mind. I was trying too many things," said ...