Nagal bows out in second round; Doubles top seeds Poonacha/ Isaro through to Coromandel Chennai Open semi-finals
Chennai, February 12th 2026: Eighth seed and former champion Sumit Nagal bowed out of the Chennai Open ATP Challenger Men’s International Tennis Championship 2026, currently underway at the SDAT Tennis Stadium, Nungambakkam, on Thursday.
The India No. 1 won the first set against big-serving left-hander Petr Bar Biryukov, ranked No. 305 in the world. Nagal also had three break points in the second set on Biryukov’s serve, but failed to convert them. With no breaks of serve, the set went into a tie-break, which Biryukov won before taking a 3-0 lead in the decider.
Although Nagal fought back to level the final set at 3-3, Biryukov earned another decisive break in the eighth game and held serve to close out a 4-6, 7-6, 6-3 win in two hours and six minutes.
In the longest match of the day, fourth seed Ilia Simakin overcame Australia’s Philip Sekulic 4-6, 7-5, 7-6 (1) in just under three hours. Simakin will next face Biryukov for a spot in the semi-finals.
Earlier in the day, Indian qualifier Sidharth Rawat, ranked No. 715 in the world, was defeated by Maks Kasnikowski, ranked No. 419, in straight sets. The Pole advanced to the last eight with a 6-2, 6-3 win.
In the doubles draw, top seeds Niki Kaliyanda Poonacha/Pruchya Isaro advanced to the last four with a 6-4, 6-1 win over wildcard duo Lohithaksha Bathrinath/Abhinav Sanjeev Shanmugam. They will next face the all-Indian pairing of S.D. Prajwal Dev/Nitin Sinha.
The third seeds made it through to the semi-finals with a 4-6, 6-2, 10-8 win over fellow Indians Ishaque Eqbal/Manish Sureshkumar.
“I thought we handled the big points really well today. It was a good match, but we stayed aggressive and trusted our game. I’m happy with how we competed and finished the match,” Dev said after the win. “I really enjoy playing in Chennai and at this venue, I like how the conditions are on the court and I am looking forward on to our next match.”
Second seeds Siddhant Banthia/Saketh Myneni were knocked out 7-5, 6-4 in the last quarter-final of the day by the Indo-British duo of Sasikumar Mukund/Jay Clarke. Myneni was aiming to reach the final here for the third year in a row, having won the title in 2024 and finishing runner-up in 2025.
Singles Second Round
Luca Castelnuovo (SUI) def. [3] Oliver Crawford (GBR) 1-6, 6-3, 7-6 (5)
[4] Ilia Simakin def. Philip Sekulic (AUS) 4-6, 7-5, 7-6 (1)
[6] Frederico Ferreira Silva (POR) def. Duje Ajdukovic (CRO) 6-3, 6-4
Petr Bar Biryukov def. [8] Sumit Nagal (IND) 4-6, 7-6 (2), 6-3
Maks Kasnikowski (POL) def. [WC] Sidharth Rawat (IND) 6-2, 6-3
Ioannis Xilas (GRE) def. Eric Vanshelboim (UKR) 6-3, 6-4
Doubles Quarter-Finals
[1] Pruchya Isaro (THA)/ Niki Kaliyanda Poonacha (IND) def. [WC] Lohithaksha Bathrinath (IND)/ Abhinav Sanjeev Shanmugam (IND) 6-4, 6-1
Jay Clarke (GBR)/ Mukund Sasikumar (IND) def. [2] Siddhant Banthia (IND)/ Saketh Myneni 7-5, 6-4
[3] S D Prajwal Dev (IND)/ Nitin Kumar Sinha (IND) def. Ishaque Eqbal (IND)/ Manish Sureshkumar (IND) 4-6, 6-2, 10-8
Felix Gill (GBR)/ Alastair Gray (GBR) def. [4] Luca Castelnuovo (SUI)/ Rio Noguchi (JPN) 7-6 (2), 7-6 (5)
