Manas Dhamne went down fighting against Croatia’s Duje Ajdukovic, who battled back to claim a 3-6, 7-6 (8), 6-4 victory in a tense contest lasting 2 hours and 16 minutes.
Teenage sensation Manas Dhamne's dream run ends; Poonacha-Isaro progress to final of theMaha Open ATP Challenger 75 Men's Tennis Championship in the Mhalunge Balewadi Tennis Stadium at the Shiv Chhatrapati Kreeda Sankul in Pune on Friday.
Local wildcard Manas Dhamne saw his dream run at the Maha Open ATP Challenger 75 come to a heartbreaking end after squandering two match points in a gripping quarterfinal at the Shiv Chhatrapati Sports Complex on Friday.
The 18-year-old Indian went down fighting against Croatia’s Duje Ajdukovic, who battled back to claim a 3-6, 7-6 (8), 6-4 victory in a tense contest lasting 2 hours and 16 minutes.
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Dhamne looked in control early on. After trading breaks in the opening set, the teenager raised his intensity with aggressive baseline play to secure a second break and confidently serve out the set 6-3. He carried that momentum into the second set, breaking in the third game to take a 2-1 lead and putting the higher-ranked Croatian under pressure.
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However, Ajdukovic, ranked 346 in the world, showed resilience. He broke back in the eighth game to level the set before edging a nail-biting tie-break 8-6, saving match points along the way to force a decider.
The Croatian seized the initiative in the final set with an early break and strong serving. Though Dhamne responded with a break in the fourth game to stay in contention, Ajdukovic’s aggressive shot-making and composure under pressure proved decisive. A crucial break in the seventh game helped him seal the set 6-4 and book a place in the semifinals.
Elsewhere in the singles draw, eighth seed Edas Butvilas produced a clinical 6-3, 6-3 win over Japan’s Masamichi Imamura in 1 hour and 21 minutes. Britain’s Felix Gill staged a remarkable comeback to defeat Poland’s Maks Kasnikowski 0-6, 7-6 (2), 6-1, while sixth seed Federico Cina comfortably beat Britain’s Alastair Gray 6-4, 6-2 to confirm his semifinal berth.
In doubles action, the Indo-Thai duo of Pruchya Isaro and the second seed Niki Kaliyanda Poonacha defeated the third-seeded Japanese pair of Yuta Shimizu and Seita Watanabe 7-5, 7-6 (4) to enter the final. Meanwhile, top seeds Siddhant Banthia and Alexander Donski were stunned by the fourth-seeded pairing of Jisung Nam and Patrik Niklas-Salminen in the second semifinal.
Despite the loss, Dhamne’s spirited performance against a seasoned opponent marked a significant step forward for the rising Indian talent.
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