Tennis
Bengaluru Open: Indian stars Nagal and Ramkumar draw French rivals for opening round
In the first round, Sumit Nagal will take on Geoffrey Blancaneaux and Ramkumar Ramanathan will clash with Maxime Janvier.
FILE PHOTO: Sumit Nagal became the first Indian player to win in the first round of a Grand Slam at the Australian Open since 1989.
India's top singles players will face French players in their first-round matches at the Bengaluru Open, with second seed Sumit Nagal set to take on Geoffrey Blancaneaux and Ramkumar Ramanathan clashing with Maxime Janvier.
The tournament is being organised by the Karnataka State Lawn Tennis Association (KSLTA) at KSLTA Stadium. Qualifying rounds will begin today while the final is scheduled on February 18.
Blancaneaux is not a new rival for Nagal, whom he has beaten three times so far. Nagal, ranked 121, had even beaten him in the Australian Open Qualifiers and would look to extend his dominance over the French player.
Ramkumar has a 1-1 head-to-head record against Janiver and if he clears the first-round hurdle, he is likely to run into top-seed Italian Luca Nardi. Nardi has been drawn to meet a qualifier in his opening round.
"It is always exciting to see Indians in the main draw. Hosting international tournaments in the country helps local players as they get to play alongside top global names. With the presence of players like former World No. 25 Vasek Pospsil, Sumit Nagal and Luca Nardi, the tournament will witness intense competition as fans can expect a week full of exciting and high voltage action at the KSLTA Stadium," Tournament Director Sunil Yajaman said.
Australian Adam Walton has been seeded third and will open his campaign against Indian wild-card entrant Prajwal Dev.
In the doubles main draw, French Dan Added and Korea's Yun Seong Chung have been given the top billing and will clash with the Australian pair of Tristan Schoolkate and Adam Walton.
Australia's Christopher Matthew Romios and Poland's Piotr Matuszewski are seeded second and will take on Taipei's Ray Ho and Australia's Calum Puttergill.
There are nine Indians in the doubles main draw. N Sriram Balaji and his German partner Andre Begemann. They will clash with the German combination of Mark Wallner and Jakob Schnaitter.
