Top seeds Niki Kaliyanda Poonacha / Pruchya Isaro to face Sasikumar / Clarke in Coromandel Chennai Open doubles final

Chennai, February 13, 2026: An Indian player is guaranteed to lift the doubles title at the Chennai Open ATP Challenger Men’s International Tennis Championship 2026, currently underway at the SDAT Tennis Stadium, Nungambakkam, after top seeds Niki Kaliyanda Poonacha/Pruchya Isaro set up a final showdown against the unseeded pairing of Mukund Sasikumar/Jay Clarke.

Poonacha/Isaro, fresh off their Grand Slam debut at the Australian Open last month, combined to defeat the all-Indian pair of S.D. Prajwal Dev/Nitin Kumar Sinha 6-4, 6-1 on Friday to book their place in the final. The top seeds led 5-1 in the opening set before Dev/Sinha mounted a mini-comeback to narrow the gap to 5-4. However, the Indo-Thai pair closed out the set 6-4 before sealing the match comfortably in the second.

“I believe we played more aggressive and with lot of energy today. We were able to get the lead at the start but we dozed off a bit which gave them a chance to come back but we are happy we closed it,” Poonacha said after the win. “I know them (Dev/Sinha) pretty well, both are close friends. I would say they didn’t play as well as they usually do, just wasn’t their day.”

Poonacha will now be gunning for his seventh ATP Challenger doubles title, while Isaro will be aiming for his fourth. The pair have previously won one ATP Challenger title together — in Shanghai in 2025.

“I love to play in Chennai,” Isaro said after the win. “I feel I am playing in my second home and want to thank everyone for supporting us. I would like to come back to play here again and again. We played super good today and I hope we get better and better as a team.”

In the second doubles semifinal, the Indo-British combination of Sasikumar/Clarke saved a match point en route to a thrilling 7-6, 4-6, 13-11 win over Felix Gill/Alastair Gray.

Earlier in the day, second seed Federico Agustin Gomez of Argentina advanced to the singles semifinals after a 6-3, 6-4 win over Kazakhstan’s Denis Yevseyev. The 29-year-old Argentine, a four-time ATP Challenger Tour singles champion, will next face fourth seed Ilia Simakin for a place in the final.

For the second day in a row, Simakin was taken the distance in a three-set battle. After defeating Philip Sekulic 4-6, 7-5, 7-6 on Thursday, the 22-year-old needed close to two-and-a-half hours to overcome big-serving Petr Bar Biryukov 7-6, 4-6, 7-5. Simakin is currently on a nine-match winning streak after clinching his maiden ATP Challenger singles title in Thailand last week.

In the other singles semifinal, sixth seed Frederico Ferreira Silva of Portugal will take on unseeded Pole Maks Kasnikowski. Ferreira Silva, who is chasing his first ATP Challenger singles title, registered a comfortable 6-2, 6-4 win over Greece’s Ioannis Xilas and is yet to drop a set this week. Kasnikowski, a two-time ATP Challenger Tour champion, came through with a 6-3, 7-6 win over Switzerland’s Luca Castelnuovo and has also won all his matches in straight sets this week.

Singles Quarter-Finals

[2] Federico Agustin Gomez (ARG) def. Denis Yevseyev (KAZ) 6-3, 6-4
[4] Ilia Simakin def. Petr Bar Biryukov 7-6, 4-6, 7-5
[6] Frederico Ferreira Silva (POR) def. Ioannis Xilas (GRE) 6-2, 6-4
Maks Kasnikowski (POL) def. Luca Castelnuovo (SUI) 6-3, 7-6 (5)

Doubles Semi-Finals

[1] Pruchya Isaro (THA)/ Niki Kaliyanda Poonacha (IND) def. [3] S D Prajwal Dev (IND)/ Nitin Kumar Sinha (IND) 6-4, 6-1
Jay Clarke (GBR)/ Mukund Sasikumar (IND) def. Felix Gill (GBR)/ Alastair Gray (GBR) 7-6 (7), 4-6, 13-11