New Delhi: It was only at the last minute that 26-year-old M Sureshkumar secured day one of the ATP Delhi Open 2026 with a victory over fifth seed Lorenzo Carboni of Italy in the first qualifying round of the men’s singles at the DLTA Complex. Sureshkumar conceded the opener and defeated the 19-year-old Carboni 4-6, 6-2, 6-3 in an hour and 53 minutes.
Later in the day, Indian campaigner Ramkumar Ramanathan, who started qualifying as a wildcard, defeated Chinese Taipei’s Tsung-Hao Huang in straight sets 6-1, 6-3.
As part of the ATP Challenger 75 series, the Delhi Open awards 75 ranking points to the champions in singles and doubles, 50 points to the runners-up in doubles and 44 points to the runners-up in singles. The individual winner receives prize money of $17,000 and the runner-up receives $9,600. The double winner receives $4,980 and the runner-up receives $2,880.
“I wasn’t sure if I would come to Delhi because I got my number only at the very last minute. To be honest, I wasn’t fully prepared as it was still doubtful whether I would play or not. I had no expectations today because I knew he was a good player and a young player. I just went into the match wanting to play good tennis,” Sureshkumar said after his win.
It was a tough fightback from Sureshkumar, who turned the game on its head after a slow start and took complete control in the second and third sets. He found the rhythm behind his serve, repeatedly putting Carboni in the deep and dictating the game with a relentless serving game that put his opponent in trouble. After gaining the upper hand, Sureshkumar barely let up as he kept up the pressure and steadily pushed Carboni into a corner to seal the turnaround in style.
“I didn’t want to put pressure on myself. I focused on sticking with it throughout the game and I’m glad I was able to get the win. I focused more on my own game than his. I had a clear set of things I wanted to do. As the game started, I started to understand his strengths. His backhand was pretty solid and he made a few mistakes on the forehand side. I learned that in the first few games, continued to work with that pattern, and it worked.” Well,” the Chennai native added.
In other results, top qualifier Denis Yevseyev had to work hard before defeating Mitsuki Wei Kang Leong in a thrilling three-set match 6-4, 6-7(3), 6-4. Tenth seed Eric Vanshelboim also survived a tough test, recovering from a set down to beat Sidharth Rawat 5-7, 6-2, 6-2. Second seed Ioannis Xilas survived a tight opening set against wildcard Ishaque Eqbal before pulling away 7-6 (6), 6-2, 6-3, while sixth seed Luca Castelnuovo and seventh seed Alexandr Binda secured straight-set wins to see off Parth Aggarwal and Udit Kamboj respectively.
Third seed Hyeon Chung looked good in a 6-2, 6-1 win over substitute Nitin Kumar Sinha, but there was no shortage of drama elsewhere. Alexander Donski beat No. 12 seed SD Prajwal Dev 6-3, 7-5 and substitute Uisung Park defeated No. 9 seed Mukund Sasikumar 6-4, 6-2 to shake up the tie. The winners will now move on to the second and final qualifying round on Monday, where six places in the main draw are up for grabs.
ATP Delhi Open 2026 – Results Day 1
Men’s Singles Qualification – First Round
(2) John Xilas (GRE) d. (WC) Ishaque Eqbal (IND) 7-6(6), 6-2, 6-3
(6) Luca Castelnuovo (SUI) d. (WC) Parth Aggarwal (IND) 6-2, 7-5
(7) Alexandr Binda (ITA) died (WC) Udit Kamboj (IND) 6-4, 7-5
(10) Eric Vanshelboim (UKR) d. Sidharth Rawat (IND) 5-7, 6-2, 6-2
Alexander Donski (BUL) died (12) SD Prajwal Dev (IND) 6-3, 7-5
(1/Alt) Denis Yevseyev (KAZ) d. Mitsuki Wei Kang Leong (MAS) 6-4, 6-7(3), 6-4
(3) Hyeon Chung (KOR) d. (Alt) Nitin Kumar Sinha (IND) 6-2, 6-1
(Alt) Manish Sureshkumar (IND) d. (5) Lorenzo Carboni (ITA) 4-6, 6-2, 6-3
(Alt) Uisung Park (KOR) d. (9) Mukund Sasikumar (IND) 6-4, 6-2
(WC) Ramkumar Ramanathan d. (8) Tsung-Hao Huang (TPE) 6-1, 6-3
(Alt) Gregory Lomakin (KAZ) d. Egor Agafonov (11) 6-3, 2-6, 7-6(7)
(4) Maks Kasnikowski (POL) d. T. Derepasko (Alt) 6-2, 6-3 (Centre Court)
