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.
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.
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.