Nagal and Dhamane lost after a tough fight with their opponents.
India’s Manas Dhamane suffered a first-round loss to Michael Mamoh in the men’s singles of the Tata Open Maharashtra here on Monday but the 15-year-old managed to impress with his fearless attitude during the match. Experienced Sumit Nagal also gave a tough fight to Serbia’s Filip Krajinovic but could not overcome the challenge of the world number 54 player. Dhamane got his exposure to top-level tennis after getting a wild card entry into the biggest tennis tournament held in the country (ATP 250 event).
He, however, crashed out of the tournament after losing 2-6, 4-6 against the world number 115. Dhamane showed glimpses of the future against a physically stronger and technically superior opponent. He has shown that if given the right training and guidance, he will be able to play consistently at the top level in the days to come. He failed to consistently trouble his opponent due to lack of power in the shot but justified the wild card entry with his fearless play.
Wild card holder Nagal was beaten 6-4, 4-6, 6-4 by sixth seed Krajinovic in an opening round match that lasted two hours and 24 minutes. “I am really happy with the way I performed,” Dhamane said after the match. There were some important moments and I could have played better. I have learned how to handle such situation. There was no pressure on me, no expectations. I never played with these guys, I just wanted to go out on the court and play.
“I need to improve physically. I have to improve the service as well. The positive thing for me was that I fought till the end. I had the energy to play the third set, which shows that I have improved in the last 6-7 months. “I was not expecting this (collision),” Mamoh, a 24-year-old American player, said after the match. He surprised me. He has a bright future.” In the fourth game of the opening set, Dhamane won the hearts of the home fans with a stunning backhand winner.
The player then earned two break points with a forehand. Mamoh, however, raised the level of his game after that and did not give Dhamane many chances. Dhamane showed his presence of mind with some good drop shots and backhand slices. They didn’t let the match get boring by scoring points in between. Nagal made unforced errors in his encounter but started controlling the game better as the match progressed. Krajinovic fired powerful strokes against the 25-year-old Nagal, using the net well to break the Indian player’s rhythm as he ran to both sides of the court.
Nagal lost the first set but the other Serbian had to fight hard to collect points. Nagal made a good comeback in the second set. He was trailing 4-5 at one stage but came back after a long rally on Krajinovic’s serve to collect points with a brilliant forehand. He looked in fine form in the third set. At one point the score was 4-4 but Filip Krajinovic won the match on the basis of his experience. In other matches, Laslo Jere of Serbia beat fifth seed Alex Molkan of Slovakia 6-2, 6-4, while Talon Grikspur of Denmark beat seventh seed Jaime Munar of Spain 6-4, 7-5. Benjamin Bonzy of France defeated Chun-Hsin Tseng of Chinese-Taipei 6-0, 6-3. Roberto Carballes Baena beat compatriot Bernabe Zapata Miralles of Spain 6-1, 7-5.
