Sanam, Vishnu enter main draw of Tashkent Challenger

Tashkent: Indian Davis Cuppers, Vishnu Vardhan and Sanam Singh made it to the main draw of USD 125000 Tashkent ATP Challenger after registering contrasting victories against their respective opponents, here on Monday.

In the final qualifying round played today, Vishnu, ranked 267 and seeded third in the qualifiers draw, came back from a set down to score a 2-6, 6-1, 7-6(5) win over Germany`s Martin Emmrich in two hours and three minutes. Vishnu served 20 aces in the match that saw some close points being played. In the final set, Vishnu broke his opponent in the 11th game to go up 6-5, but lost his own service in the 12th game to force it into a tiebreak, where he held on to his nerves to ensure a berth in the main draw. He also earned five ATP points for qualifying for the main round. Vishnu will take on Russian Igor Kunitsyn in his first round match. Sixth seeded Sanam Singh, meanwhile, registered an upset victory over fourth seeded Nikoloz Basilashvili of Georgia 6-2, 6-0 in just 53 minutes to qualify for the main round. He played smart tennis against a higher ranked and taller opponent, lashing out array of backhand winners in both sets. Sanam, currently ranked 355, will play another qualifier, Oleksandr Nedovyesov of Ukraine in the first round of the main draw. "Scoring points is important to me as I have to defend around 55 points till December. So my effort will be to earn as many points as possible here," said Vishnu after the match. Results of the final round qualifying: Oleksandr Nedovyesov (UKR) bt Andre Begemann (GER) 2-6, 7-6(2), 6-4; Vishnu Vardhan (IND) bt Martin Emmrich (GER) 2-6, 6-1, 7-6(5); Sanam Singh (IND) bt Nikoloz Basilashvili (GEO) 6-2, 6-0. PTI