$15K ITF Africa(Uganda,Zimbabwe) 2019

[Dinesh]

A flock of Indian players has entered in this 3-week $15K series in Ghana, starting next week. Hopefully, some of our guys will take advantage of this weaker list.

Entry list for next week:

1 Niki KALIYANDA POONACHA (IND) 614 298 1
2 Guy Orly IRADUKUNDA (BDI) 620 983 2 1
3 Ryan James STORRIE (GBR) 655 557 1
4 Ajeet RAI (NZL) 359 2 1
5 Simon CARR (IRL) 367 4 4
6 Aryan GOVEAS (IND) 458 13 1
7 Eric VANSHELBOIM (UKR) 570 2 39 1
8 Mehluli Don Ayanda SIBANDA (ZIM) 695 1
9 Kunal ANAND (IND) 748 19 1
10 Abhinav Sanjeev SHANMUGAM (IND) 768 16 1
11 Dennis USPENSKY (USA) 796 6
12 Niklas JOHANSSON (SWE) 798 11 1
13 Giovani SAMAHA (LBN) 817 1
14 Anirudh CHANDRASEKAR (IND) 849 27 1
15 S D Prajwal DEV (IND) 871 20 2
16 Julian BRADLEY (IRL) 874 10 3
17 Andrea BESSIRE (ITA) 965 290 1
18 Jatin DAHIYA (IND) 976 31 1

[Dinesh]

Week 1:

QR1
Kevin CHERUIYOT (KEN) 6-4 6-3 Dipanshu GARG (IND)
Rishi REDDY (IND) [5] BYE
Jurence Zosimo MENDOZA (PHI) 6-2 6-3 Tarun Anirudh CHILAKALAPUDI (IND) [13]
Muthu Aadhitiya SENTHILKUMAR (IND) [10] 6-0 6-0 Raphael TSONGO PILIPILI (COD)

FQR
Rishi REDDY (IND) [5] 3-6 6-3 [12-10] Ibrahim Kibet YEGO (KEN) [12]
Muthu Aadhitiya SENTHILKUMAR (IND) [10] 7-5 6-3 Len SCHOUTEN (NED) [7]

MD R1
Ivan NEDELKO (RUS,436) [1] 7-5 6-3 Rishi REDDY (IND,1898 ITF)
Aryan GOVEAS (IND,458 ITF) [7] 6-4 6-2 Ismael Changawa Ruwa MZAI (KEN,2859 ITF)
Anirudh CHANDRASEKAR (IND,849 ITF) 6-1 6-2 Simon Peter AYELLA (UGA,UNR)
Julian BRADLEY (IRL,874 ITF) 6-4 7-6(0) Abhinav Sanjeev SHANMUGAM (IND,768 ITF)
Guy Orly IRADUKUNDA (BDI,620) [3] 3-6 6-2 6-1 Kunal ANAND (IND,748 ITF)
Ajeet RAI (NZL,359 ITF) [6] 6-4 6-2 Mehluli Don Ayanda SIBANDA (ZIM,695 ITF)
S D Prajwal DEV (IND,871 ITF) 6-0 6-0 Nkanku MUKEBA (COD,UNR)
Muthu Aadhitiya SENTHILKUMAR (IND,2706 ITF) 6-1 6-2 Darryl HALE (GBR,1521 ITF)
Niki KALIYANDA POONACHA (IND,614) [2] 7-6 6-3 William BUSHAMUKA (USA,1057 ITF)

[Dinesh]

Round 2 results:

Julius TVERIJONAS (LTU,1384 ITF) 7-6(1) 3-1 Retired Aryan GOVEAS (IND,458 ITF) [7]
Ryan James STORRIE (GBR,646) [4] 6-4 6-4 Anirudh CHANDRASEKAR (IND,849 ITF)
S D Prajwal DEV (IND,871 ITF) 6-2 2-1 Retired Ajeet RAI (NZL,359 ITF) [6]
Muthu Aadhitiya SENTHILKUMAR (IND,2706 ITF) 1-6 6-1 5-2 Retired Niki KALIYANDA POONACHA (IND,614) [2]

Mixed results. Muthu in his first ITF QF ever. Great first set win for Prajwal, too. Wonder why there were a lot of retirements from our players.

Prajwal and Muthu face each other in the QF - so one SF berth assured.

[PKBasu]

Shocking loss for Aryan Goveas against a very low-ranked player. Niki Poonacha's retirement at 2-5 down in the final set is disgraceful. That Prajwal and Muthu are meeting next is good (we are assured of one semifinalist) but also bad (only one can advance ).

[sameerph]

[QF] Muthu Aadhitiya SENTHILKUMAR (IND,2706 ITF) d. S D Prajwal DEV (IND,871 ITF) 64 retd.

First time heard of this 19 year old Muthu. Nice run by him indeed here. Lets see how he fares next.

[SF] Muthu Aadhitiya SENTHILKUMAR (IND,2706 ITF)vs. (5) Simon CARR (IRL,342 ITF)

[jayakris]

Shocking loss for Aryan Goveas against a very low-ranked player. Niki Poonacha's retirement at 2-5 down in the final set is disgraceful.

He is young. Maybe nobody has told him that this is known as really disgraceful, and that it shows the player to be only concerned about how he is "perceived" later, rather than about how he actually "is", as a player. If he were a bit older, I would be more critical. But somebody should tell him to have the proper thinking about the whole process of being a pro tennis players. The pros do not care about what others perceive; they only care about how they play. That is how a sportsman is.... But all of this assumes that he was actually able to stand on court and throw in or receive 4 serves to finish the match. Anyway, it also took away from Senthilkumar the joy and respect he would have got for a big upset.

But Senthilkumar is making a habit of getting the opponent injured. How does he do that. Or is it that the opponent just gets scared and decides to give up?

[Dinesh]

[SF] Muthu Aadhitiya SENTHILKUMAR (IND,2706 ITF) l. (5) Simon CARR (IRL,342 ITF), 3-6 1-6

Muthu lost but what a week! He should rise at least 1500 spots in the next ITF rankings release. I am hoping he gets a SE/WC spot for next week's MD.

[sameerph]

This week's results so far-

R1
Ivan NEDELKO (RUS) [1] 6-4 6-3 Ranjeet VIRALI-MURUGESAN (IND)
S D Prajwal DEV (IND) 6-2 6-1 Diego FERNANDEZ FLORES (CHI)
Eric VANSHELBOIM (UKR) 6-7(1) 7-5 7-5 Anirudh CHANDRASEKAR (IND)
Julian BRADLEY (IRL) 3-6 7-6(4) 6-2 Suraj R PRABODH (IND) [5]
Dhruv SUNISH (IND) 6-1 6-4 Mehluli Don Ayanda SIBANDA (ZIM)
Dalwinder SINGH (IND) 7-6(4) 6-3 Muzammil MURTAZA (PAK)
Aryan GOVEAS (IND) [8] 6-1 6-2 Issa CUMA (BDI)
Ajeet RAI (NZL) [7] 6-1 7-6(5) Abhinav Sanjeev SHANMUGAM (IND)
Simon CARR (IRL) [6] 6-4 6-4 Kunal ANAND (IND)
Rishi REDDY (IND) 4-6 7-6(3) 6-4 Giovani SAMAHA (LBN)
Niki KALIYANDA POONACHA (IND) [2] 6-0 6-3 Ibrahim Kibet YEGO (KEN)

R2
Ivan NEDELKO (RUS) [1] 6-1 6-2 S D Prajwal DEV (IND)
Guy Orly IRADUKUNDA (BDI) [3] 6-4 6-3 Dhruv SUNISH (IND)
Aryan GOVEAS (IND) [8] 7-6(4) 7-6(5) Dalwinder SINGH (IND)
Rishi REDDY (IND) 6-2 6-4 Niki KALIYANDA POONACHA (IND) [2]

So, Aryan and Rishi are thru to the QF.

[sameerph]

Both the Indians lost in the QF.

[QF] Guy Orly IRADUKUNDA (BDI) [3] 7-6(3) 1-6 7-5 Aryan GOVEAS (IND) [8]

[QF] Simon CARR (IRL) [6] 6-1 6-2 Rishi REDDY (IND)

[PKBasu]

Folks, Kampala is the main city in UGANDA, very far away from Ghana. Please make the amendment at the beginning of the thread!

Top seeded Anirudh Chandrasekhar and Niki Kaliyandi Poonacha are in the doubles final. But the second seeded pair (Aryan Goveas and his Lebanese partner) lost in the SF.

[Dinesh]

This week:

Round 1
Tejas CHAUKULKAR (IND) [1] BYE
Rishi REDDY (IND) [9] 6-0 6-0 Narahari KADEKAR (IND)
Dharmil SHAH (IND) 6-4 6-3 Anshumat SRIVASTAVA (IND) [13]
Tarun Anirudh CHILAKALAPUDI (IND) [11] 6-0 6-0 David SHEER MOHAMED (GBR)
Muthu Aadhitiya SENTHILKUMAR (IND) [12] 6-0 6-0 Paul SSEKANDI (UGA)
Joao Marcos NUSDEO (BRA) [7] 6-2 6-0 Ajay Pruthvi NEMAKAL (IND)
Arjun MAHADEVAN (IND) [16] 6-1 6-0 Dipanshu GARG (IND)
Gokul SURESH (IND) [8] 6-4 7-6(7) Kevin CHERUIYOT (KEN)
Babji Siva ATTURU (IND) [10] 6-0 6-0 DeMark SCHULZE (USA)

Round 2
Rishi REDDY (IND) [9] 6-3 4-6 [10-7] Tejas CHAUKULKAR (IND) [1]
Sheil KOTECHA (KEN) [2] 6-2 6-0 Dharmil SHAH (IND)
Ahmed CHOUDHARY (PAK) [3] 6-7(9) 6-2 [12-10] Tarun Anirudh CHILAKALAPUDI (IND) [11]
Kent TAGASHIRA (JPN) [6] 6-4 7-6(4) Muthu Aadhitiya SENTHILKUMAR (IND) [12]
Joao Marcos NUSDEO (BRA) [7] 6-4 7-6(5) Arjun MAHADEVAN (IND) [16]
Gokul SURESH (IND) [8] 6-3 6-1 Babji Siva ATTURU (IND) [10]

Some close losses for our players in FQR. Unfortunate that Muthu could not sustain his week 1 stellar form for the next couple of weeks

[Dinesh]

Round 1:

Julius TVERIJONAS (LTU) 7-6(10) 2-6 6-4 Dalwinder SINGH (IND)
Abhinav Sanjeev SHANMUGAM (IND) 6-4 7-6(5) Guy Orly IRADUKUNDA (BDI) [3]
Joao Marcos NUSDEO (BRA) 4-6 6-2 6-1 Kunal ANAND (IND)
Rishi REDDY (IND) 4-6 6-2 2-1 Retired Ranjeet VIRALI-MURUGESAN (IND) [8]
Gokul SURESH (IND) 6-0 4-0 Retired Edward BIRUNGI (UGA)
Anirudh CHANDRASEKAR (IND) 7-6(3) 1-0 Retired Ryan James STORRIE (GBR) [4]
Simon CARR (IRL) [5] 6-1 6-2 Tejas CHAUKULKAR (IND)
S D Prajwal DEV (IND) 2-6 6-3 6-1 Diego FERNANDEZ FLORES (CHI)
Suraj R PRABODH (IND) 7-5 7-5 Sergey BOLOTOV (RUS)
Niki KALIYANDA POONACHA (IND) [2] 6-2 6-0 Dhruv SUNISH (IND)

Lots of greens and 2 of our young guns upsetting seeded foreign players

[Dinesh]

R2 matchups:

Abhinav Sanjeev SHANMUGAM (IND, ITF 747) vs Joao Marcos NUSDEO (BRA, ITF 1754)
Anirudh CHANDRASEKAR (IND, ITF 804) vs Giovani SAMAHA (LBN, ITF 812)
S D Prajwal DEV (IND,ITF 987) vs Simon CARR (IRL, ITF 271) [5]
Rishi REDDY (IND,ITF 1819) vs Gokul SURESH (IND, ITF 1877)
Niki KALIYANDA POONACHA (IND,609) [2] vs Suraj R PRABODH (IND,UNR)

Both Anirudh and Abhinav are a set up in their respective matches. Really hope they collect more singles ranking points this week.

[Dinesh]

Some of our lower rung players are in Zimbabwe playing the 2-week $15K ITF. Since there are only 12 posts to this thread, I think we can change the title accordingly and continue the discussion here, mods?

Week 1:

QD Round 1
Yash YADAV (IND) 6-2 6-7(5) [10-8] Jason CHIGAAZIRA (ZIM)
Babji Siva ATTURU (IND) [3] BYE
Ethan Denzel SIBANDA (ZIM) 6-0 6-3 Rishabdev RAMAN (IND)
Lefa Ashley SIBANDA (BOT) 6-3 7-5 Amit BENIWAL (IND)
Rithwik RAJSHEKHAR RAMAN (IND) 6-2 6-2 Kumail MOHAMED (USA)
Tushar MADAN (IND) 7-5 6-1 Sanisth JUNEJA (IND)
Ishaque EQBAL (IND) 6-2 6-2 Yash CHAURASIA (IND) [10]
Ansu BHUYAN (IND) [8] BYE

QD Round 2
Simon YITBAREK (SWE) [1] 6-4 6-2 Yash YADAV (IND)
Ethan Denzel SIBANDA (ZIM) 6-2 6-1 Babji Siva ATTURU (IND) [3]
Charl MORGAN (RSA) [5] 6-4 6-1 Rithwik RAJSHEKHAR RAMAN (IND)
Vasilios CARIPI (RSA) [6] 6-4 6-2 Tushar MADAN (IND)
Ishaque EQBAL (IND) 4-6 6-3 [10-3] Derrick NAMANYA (ZIM) [7]
Markus SCHULTZ (SWE) [9] 6-2 6-3 Ansu BHUYAN (IND) [8]

MD Round 1

Takanyi GARANGANGA (ZIM,453) [1] 6-2 6-2 Rishi REDDY (IND,1296 ITF)
S D Prajwal DEV (IND,976 ITF) 6-1 6-2 Constantin BITTOUN KOUZMINE (FRA,195 ITF) [6]
Guy Orly IRADUKUNDA (BDI,625) [4] 6-4 6-4 Dhruv SUNISH (IND,1243 ITF)
Simon YITBAREK (SWE,665) [5] 7-5 6-4 Ishaque EQBAL (IND,UNR)
Markus SCHULTZ (SWE,2929 ITF) 6-2 6-3 Aryan GOVEAS [7] (IND,474 ITF)
Anurag NENWANI (IND,1537 ITF) 2-6 0-3 ret. Benjamin LOCK [2] (ZIM,548)
Anvit BENDRE (IND,1644) 1-6 2-6 Mehluli Don Ayanda SIBANDA (ZIM,570 ITF)

Only Prajwal goes through to second round with an excellent upset win.

MD Round 2

S D Prajwal DEV (IND,976 ITF) versus Joshua HOWARD-TRIPP (RSA, 2487 ITF)

[arjun2761]

Overall some awful results from the Indians in what has to among the easiest places to play in terms of level of competition.