Chennai Open ATP Challenger 2025: Mukund, Ramkumar and Karan — fresh off Davis Cup win — exit in first round

Chennai Open ATP Challenger 2025: Mukund, Ramkumar and Karan — fresh off Davis Cup win — exit in first round

S. Mukund, Ramkumar Ramanathan and Karan Singh — members of the Indian Davis Cup team which beat Togo 4-0 in a World Group I Playoff last week — were knocked out of the Chennai Open ATP Challenger in the first round on Tuesday.

Local boys Mukund and Ramkumar, and Haryana’s Karan were given main draw wildcards since they were unable to make the cut on the basis of their ATP Rankings for the first of the four straight Challenger Tour events in the country. India will also host Challenger events in New Delhi, Pune and Bengaluru in the next three weeks.

World No. 500 Karan — who won 6-2, 6-3 against unranked Togolese Hod’abalo isak Padio on his Davis Cup debut in New Delhi on Sunday — went down 6-3, 6-3 to Frenchman Kyrian Jacquet, World No. 273, in an hour and 13 minutes at the SDAT Stadium.

World No. 400 Ramkumar — who clinched a 6-0, 6-2 win over Thomas Setodji, the only ranked player in Togo’s squad — suffered a 6-3, 7-5 defeat against Britain’s Jay Clarke, currently ranked 266th in the world.

World No. 394 Mukund — who played as the country’s No. 1 singles player against Togo in the absence of Sumit Nagal and defeated Liova Ajavon 6-2, 6-1 — was eliminated following a 6-3, 6-7(3), 6-1 loss to World No. 333 Alexey Zakharov of Russia.

In the qualifying round, there were 11 Indians, including four wildcards, but none could progress to the main draw.

Nagal, who made his Top 100 debut after winning last year’s edition in Chennai, has opted to play in a Challenger in Rosario, Argentina, this time.

World No. 105 Nagal won his opening-round contest 5-7, 6-1, 6-0 against Renzo Olivo, a local wildcard.