Rastogi in third round at Italy

Promising Indian youngster Karan Rastogi scored a convincing 7-5, 6-2 victory over unseeded Syrym Abdukhalikov of Khazakhasthan to reach the third round in a Grade-A tournament at the Milano Club in Italy on Tuesday.

Related feature Rastogi ready to rumble

Seeded sixth, Rastogi had rallied magnificently in the first round to get the better of another unseeded player, David Navarrete of Venezuela, 3-6, 6-4, 6-0.

The Mumbai lad -- the only Indian in the eight-member ITF team -- is also playing doubles, partnering Yi Chu-Huan of Chinese Taipei, the number three seed in the singles section.

Rastogi and Chu-Huan beat the formidable Dutch pair of Van Der Duin Antal and Van Keulen Coen 6-3, 6-4 in a first round match on Tuesday.

The May 17-23 clay-court tournament offers the same number of points as in a Grand Slam and is a warm-up for the French Open.