Myneni ousts Balaji to reach 2nd round of Shanghai Challenger

Shanghai, Sept 8:

India’s Saketh Myneni reached the second round of the ATP Challenger event here with a comfortable straight sets win over compatriot and qualifier N Sriram Balaji, today.

Myneni saw off the challenge of Balaji 6-4 6-3 in his first round of the USD 50,000 event.

In the one hour and 24-minutes contest, Balaji saved a staggering 15 break points from 18 he faced. He lost serve thrice and managed to break Myneni one time.

Next rival for Saketh is Australia’s Jordan Thompson, who knocked out fifth seed Jurgen Zopp from Estonia.

Fourth seed Yuki Bhmabri has already made it to the second round and he faces China’s Ze Zhang.

Balaji’s challenge though is still alive in the doubles with Myneni. The fourth seeds are in the quarterfinals, where they play Peter Gojowczyk and Estonia’s Jurgen Zopp. PTI