Five Indians were part of the first round qualifiers at the 5th Tata Open Maharashtra on Saturday at Pune's Balewadi Stadium - three, including Prajnesh Gunneswaran, went down fighting, while two progressed to the second round, standing a win away from making a main draw appearance.
Prajnesh, who was the only Indian to reach the pre-quarters in the 2020 edition, returned to Pune to make his fifth appearance at the Tata Open. But his tournament was cut short by 159th-ranked Maximilian Marterer from Germany in a three-setter.
After being broken early in the opening set, the 348th-ranked Indian trailed 0-3 before making a stunning comeback to reach the set point in the tie-breaker. However, with Marterer raising his level at the crunch moment, the German negated the threat to win the first set 7-6 (8-6).
The 33-year-old remained resilient as he broke the German early in the second set and won it 6-3 to force a deciding third, where he played catch-up until 6-5 before Marterer broke his serve in the game that mattered the most to win the match 7-6, 3-6, 7-5.
Ramkumar, a former quarter-finalist at Tata Open, made a nervy start against 175-ranked Otto Virtanen. With two double faults and allowing his Finnish opponent to capitalise on his second serve, Ramkumar was broken thrice in the opening set, which he lost 2-6. But the 435-ranked Indian put on a stunning show in the final two sets, rectifying his errors and bringing in more net play, to outlast Virtanen. He eventually won 2-6, 7-5, 6-2 to reach the final qualifying round where he will face Italy's Mattia Bellucci, who beat Vladyslav Orlov in the qualifiers on Saturday.
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Unlike Ramkumar, Yuki enjoyed a comfortable win. He was slated to play against Germany's Cedrik-Marcel Stebe, but following the latter's withdrawal, he went up against Diego Hidalgo of Ecuador, whom he beat 6-2, 6-2. He will face Sweden's Elias Ymer, who received a walkover in his match against Miljan Zekić, in the final qualifying round on Sunday.
Meanwhile, Sidharth Rawat, who replaced Christopher Eubanks in the qualifying draw on Saturday, lost 1-6, 7-5, 1-6 against Zdeněk Kolář, and Aditya Vishal Balsekar went down in straight sets, 3-6, 0-6, against Flavio Cobolli.
The main draw matches for Tata Open Maharashtra will begin from January 2 onwards.
Aratrick Mondal is a senior sports journalist based in New Delhi. In his eight years as a sports writer, Aratrick has worked at leading media organisations, including The Times of India, Times Now, Zee, India TV and currently works at a senior position at Hindustan Times Digital. He writes on cricket, football, pickleball and tennis, among other sports. He has extensively covered India's evolving cricket landscape, the country's new-found love for private leagues such as Indian Pickleball League (IPBL), Ultimate Kho Kho League (UKK), Rugby Premier League (RPL) and several tennis leagues. He has closely covered emerging sports such as pickleball. His coverage of major franchise events lends an atmospheric flavor to his ground reports. His recent story on how SA20 (the domestic cricket league of South Africa) had opened up its grounds to create a carnival-like fan experience garnered major international attention, including appreciation from major cricketers. Tennis holds a special place in his heart. Aratrick has built a strong niche in analytical tennis stories—ranging from Grand Slam narratives and player profiles to tactical breakdowns and ranking trends. His long-form features often decode grand slams, career highs and lows of tennis greats and the upward trajectory of emerging stars. He also closely follows India's tennis landscape, having covered the Davis Cup, Bengaluru Open and Tata Open, among others. His reporting is backed by strong data capabilities, with hands-on experience using tools like Python, Tableau, and Excel to produce visually rich, insight-led stories. This data-first approach enhances accuracy, transparency, and trust. In leadership roles, he has managed editorial shifts, overseen homepage strategy, optimised SEO workflows, and mentored peers to deliver consistent, high-traffic journalism. He recently won the HT DigiStar award for the third quarter of financial year 2025-26. Aratrick is trusted for his balanced reportage, sound sourcing, and ability to translate complex sporting events into engaging narratives that speak to a wide audience. He believes sports is for everyone, not just for the enthusiasts and has a unique ability to bring people together - just like the sumptuous meals you'll often find him cooking on a weekend evening.
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Home/Sports/Tennis/Yuki Bhambri, Ramkumar Ramanathan progress in Tata Open Maharashtra qualifiers
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