Rupesh Roy and qualifier Divij Sharan of India kicked off their campaigns with impressive wins, as the main draw got under way in the CCI-ITF US$15,000 Men's Futures Tennis Tournament, at the Cricket Club of India in Mumbai, on Monday.
Southpaw Sharan overcame compatriot and wild card Lakshit Sood 6-3, 7-6, while Roy beat Tristan-Samuel Weissborn of Austria 7-6, 6-1 in close first round contests.
Sharan got off to a good start and earned three crucial breaks in the first set, while Sood earned two, in the first and seventh games.
While serving for the match at 6-5 in the second set, Sharan was forced into the tie-breaker after the first deuce by a gallant Sood, who also had a set point in the tie-breaker.??
Also advancing to the second round was wild card Srirambalaji Narayanaswamy of India who prevailed over qualifier Perakut Siriwithaiwattana of Thailand 6-3, 3-6, 7-6 (8-6) in another tight match.
Joining the Indian trio in the second round was No. 7 seed Roko Karanustic of Croatia.
Results (1st round): Divij Sharan (Ind) bt Lakshit Sood (Ind) 6-3, 7-6 (8-6); Roko Karanustic (Croatia) bt Kirati Siributwong (Thai) 6-1, 6-1; Rupesh Roy (Ind) bt Tristan-Samuel Weissborn (Austria) 7-6 (7-3), 6-1; Srirambalaji Narayanaswamy (Ind) bt Perakut Siriwithaiwattana (Thailand) 6-3, 3-6, 7-6 (8-6).
