Divij to clash with Bryan brothers at Atlanta Open, Ramkumar exits Binghamton Challenger

Sharan and Erlich came from behind to beat Miomir Kecmanovic and Robert Lindstedt 2-6, 6-3, 13-11 in the first round of the ATP 250 event. On the other hand, Ramkumar lost 6-2, 6-7(3), 2-6 to Alexander Ritschard in the USD 54,160 tournament.

Divij Sharan will meet the Bryans, who have won more than 100 ATP doubles titles together, in the ATP Atlanta Open quarterfinal clash. On the other hand, Ramkumar Ramanathan, who got a first-round bye, lost in the second round of Binghamton Challenger.

Divij Sharan in partnership with Jonathan Erlich of Israel made the doubles quarterfinals in a thrilling fashion with a 2-6, 6-3, 13-11 victory over Miomir Kecmanovic of Serbia and Robert Lindstedt of Sweden in the $777,385 ATP tennis tournament in Atlanta, US. The duo will test their skills against the legendary Bryan brothers, Mike and Bob, in the quarterfinal. Meanwhile, in the ATP event in Switzerland, Jeevan Nedunchezhiyan and Purav Raja, who had beaten the second seeds in the doubles first round, were beaten 7-5, 6-4 by the local wild cards Marc-Andrea Huesler and Jakub Paul. In the Challenger in Binghamton, second seed Ramkumar Ramanathan slipped from being close to victory as he was beaten 2-6, 7-6(3), 6-2 by wild card entrant Alexander Ritschard of the US. While Ramkumar had a bye in the first round, the American had beaten Michail Pervolarakis of Greece in a three-setter in the first round.

READ: Atlanta Open: Reilly Opelka ends John Isner's title defence In the Challenger in Prague, Sriram Balaji and Vishnu Vardhan, playing together after a gap, were beaten 10-8 in the super tie-break by Andre Begemann and Florin Mergea, in the doubles pre-quarterfinals. In the $25,000 ITF women’s event in Portugal, Shrivalli Rashmikaa Bhamidipaty capitalised on a lucky-loser entry into the main draw, by beating qualifier Ayline Esina Samardzic of Switzerland 6-3, 6-1. She will play sixth seed Mari Ossaka of Japan in the pre-quarterfinals. Shrivalli had lost the final qualifying round in the super tie-break to the top seed Pei-Chi Lee of Chinese Taipei.  

The results: $777,385 ATP, Atlanta, US Doubles (pre-quarterfinals): Jonathan Erlich (Isr) & Divij Sharan bt Miomir Kecmanovic (Srb) & Robert Lindstedt (Swe) 2-6, 6-3, [13-11]. € 586,140 ATP, Gstaad, Switzerland Doubles (quarterfinals): Marc-Andrea Huesler & Jakub Paul (Sui) bt Jeevan Nedunchezhiyan & Purav Raja 7-5, 6-4. € 250,000 WTA, Palermo, Italy Doubles (pre-quarterfinals): Ekaterine Gorgodze (Geo) & Arantxa Rus (Ned) bt Eva Wacanno (Ned) & Prarthana Thombare 7-6(2), 7-6(4). $54,160 Challenger, Binghamton, US Singles (second round): Alexander Ritschard (US) bt Ramkumar Ramanathan 2-6, 7-6(3), 6-2. € 46,600 Challenger, Prague, Czech Republic Doubles (pre-quarterfinals): Andre Begemann (Ger) & Florin Mergea (Rou) bt Sriram Balaji & Vishnu Vardhan 7-6(4), 2-6, [10-8]. $25,000 ITF men, Denia, Spain Singles (first round): Alberto Barroso Campos (Esp) bt Aryan Goveas 6-4, 6-1; Timofei Skatov (Kaz) bt Rishab Agarwal 6-0, 7-5.