Pranav Karthik upsets Udit Kamboj; Manish Sureshkumar and Vaidehee Chaudhari reach Fenesta Open quarterfinals
Pranav Karthik rallied from a set down to defeat fourth seed Udit Kamboj 1-6, 7-6 (7-3), 6-2 in the second round of the 31st Fenesta Open National Tennis Championship in New Delhi on Wednesday, October 7, 2026, with the match lasting 2 hours and 31 minutes. Men’s top seed Manish Sureshkumar and women's contender Vaidehee Chaudhari also advanced to the quarterfinals.
Kamboj dominated the opening set 6-1 and remained level with Karthik through much of the second before Karthik took the tiebreak 7-3. Karthik converted that momentum into a 6-2 third set to complete the comeback. The winner is a 21-year-old from Tamil Nadu.
“To be honest, I was thinking I was going to lose for sure after the horrible first set,” Karthik said after the win. "I just kept serving well and maintaining my service games. And when it came to tiebreak, it's 50-50. Then I just pulled it off with 3-4 good points. When I pulled off the tiebreak, I got more confidence and started going for my shots. "The first game of the third set is always important because you have to keep pushing through and keep the momentum because you don't want to give him the breathing space. And thankfully, I got the break in the first game and then I was able to run away with the match after that," he said.
In the men's draw, top seed Manish Sureshkumar beat Lakshit Sood 6-0, 6-1 to move into the last eight. He was joined in the quarterfinals by No. 6 seed Maan Kesharwani, No. 8 seed Rohan Mehra and Suraj Prabodh, who had eliminated second seed Aditya Balsekar in the previous round on Tuesday.
The top five players in the women's singles draw secured quarterfinal berths. Vaidehee Chaudhari defeated 16-year-old Ahaan Ahaan 6-4, 6-1; Shruti Ahlawat beat Parthsarthi Mundhe 6-2, 6-2; and third seed Akanksha Nitture recovered after dropping the second set to overcome Yubrani Banerjee 6-1, 4-6, 6-1.
There was an upset in the Boys U-18 singles when top seed Praneel Sharma was beaten 7-6 (7-4), 6-4 by Veer Jiten Madam. Fourth seed Om Ramesh Patel and fifth seed Aditya Mor progressed in straight sets to join Madam in the quarterfinals. In the Girls U-18 event, top seed Savitha Bhuvaneswaran led 3-6, 7-6 (7-5), 3-0 when 14th seed Aahida Singh retired after a 2 hours 45 minutes contest; Bhuvaneswaran will be joined in the last eight by second seed Parthsarthi Mundhe and third seed Shreeniti Chowdhury.
Karthik, Manish Sureshkumar, Maan Kesharwani, Rohan Mehra, Suraj Prabodh, Vaidehee Chaudhari, Shruti Ahlawat, Akanksha Nitture, Veer Jiten Madam, Om Ramesh Patel, Aditya Mor and Savitha Bhuvaneswaran are among the players who have advanced to the quarterfinals of the 31st Fenesta Open National Tennis Championship.
