Dhakshineswar served 20 aces and did not face a single break-point against the higher-ranked Croat.
| Photo Credit: SUDHAKARA JAIN
Dhakshineswar Suresh came up with a power-packed performance to oust Croatia’s Duje Ajdukovic 6-4, 6-4 in the opening round of the Dafa News Bengaluru Open ATP Challenger 125 at the S.M. Krishna Stadium here on Tuesday.
It did not matter that Ajdukovic was nearly 200 ranking places better off (329 to Dhakshineswar’s 521), and was a three-time ATP Challenger titlist. Dhakshineswar, who plays for the Wake Forest University in the US collegiate system, had just 10 Challenger matches under his belt, having won five of those and none in India.
Yet, the 25-year-old wildcard was confidence personified, serving 20 aces, winning 34 of 38 first-serve points and not facing a single break-point in a contest that lasted just four seconds shy of an hour.
Dhakshineswar’s effort continued his recent purple patch that has seen him register a memorable win in the Davis Cup World Group I tie against Switzerland last September where he beat a player ranked more than 450 places above him, and win a set against Daniil Medvedev in the World Tennis League (WTL) exhibition.
“It was a really good day. Can’t get any better,” he said after the win. “I was here a couple of weeks ago for the WTL and I knew the conditions. That played a big role.”
Dhakshineswar needed just two breaks of serve — one in the opening game and another in the fifth game of the second set. The second, in fact, was to love, and the easy volley that Ajdukovic dumped into the net on break-point was emblematic of his struggles.
He rarely guessed a serve right, and on the odd occasions he did, he didn’t possess the legs to stretch the rally. The home lad also had a vicious kick-serve, which he used on the seconds to make his overall game pretty much impregnable.
But his countrymen Karan Singh and Aryan Shah didn’t fare well as they tamely bowed out.
Other results (first round): Singles: Cedrik-Marcel Stebe (Ger) bt Max Houkes (Ned) 4-6, 6-3, 6-1; Felix Balshaw (Fra) bt Benjamin Hassan (Lbn) 6-4, 6-1; Borna Gojo (Cro) bt Karan Singh 6-2, 6-4; Eric Vanshelboim (Ukr) bt Niels Visker (Ned) 3-6, 6-2, 6-4; Beibit Zhukayev (Kaz) bt Aryan Shah 6-1, 6-2; Mitsuki Wei Kang Leong (Mas) bt Aziz Ouakaa (Tun) 6-2, 6-2; Pedro Martinez (Esp) bt Eero Vasa (Fin) 4-6, 6-2, 6-3.
Doubles: Adil Kalyanpur & Saketh Myneni bt Lloyd Harris & Sumit Nagal 7-6(3), 4-6, [13-11].
Published – January 06, 2026 09:21 pm IST