Saketh Myneni gets wildcard for Bengaluru Open ATP Challenger

By PTI

BENGALURU: India’s Saketh Myneni was on Thursday awarded a wildcard into the singles main draw of the Bengaluru Open ATP Challenger beginning here next week.

Incidentally, the lanky 34-year-old, who has two singles and six doubles Challenger titles under his belt, had finished runner-up in the second edition while playing on a wildcard.

The remaining two wildcards will be announced on Friday.

Only two Indians — Prajnesh Gunneswaran and Ramkumar Ramanathan — have secured a direct berth for the main draw of the event starting on Monday.

The qualifying rounds begin on Sunday.

“Unfortunately not many events have happened in India. It has been two tough years for the tennis fraternity,” Saketh said from Pune, where he is currently playing in the Tata Open Maharashtra, a ATP 250 event.

“I am glad that KSLTA is hosting two back-to-back events amidst these testing times. Any tournament in India is a bonus for Indians especially like me. I have had some good success at Bengaluru and a lot of good competition there so I am looking forward to the Challengers again. I have to compete hard and do the best I can. I hope to utilise this opportunity and perform to the best of my abilities,” he added.

While announcing the wildcard, Tournament Director Sunil Yajaman said: “We are pleased to announce the wildcard to Saketh Myneni who was a finalist in 2018 Bengaluru Open.

“Saketh has been an inspiration to many young Indian players and we wish him the very best in the year’s edition.”

The twin events at the Bengaluru Open ATP Challengers offer a total prize purse of USD 107,000.