Siddharth, Mukund remain in hunt for main draw spots

National champion Siddharth Vishwakarma and the promising Sasi Kumar Mukund inched closer to singles main draw spots of the Bengaluru Open by advancing to the final round of the qualifying event, on Sunday.

Left-handed Vishwakarma, who grabbed eyeballs with his power-hitting from the baseline during the Nationals, knocked out fifth seed Antoine Escoffier of France 7-6 (3), 3-6, 6-3 in a second-round battle which lasted nearly two hours.

He will next take on Egypt's Youssef Hossam, who shocked top seed Nicola Kuhn of Spain 6-2 7-6 (4) in his second round.

Mukund, seeded seventh, advanced to the third round after getting past Germany's Lucas Gerch 6-1 6-4.

Meanwhile, defending champion Sumit Nagal sounded upbeat for his first round clash with last year's finalist Jay Clarke of Britain.

"Last year, it was a great match and everybody enjoyed it. I am looking forward to tomorrow's match and so is he. Let's see how it goes. I have been working with the new team since September and I feel confident about my game," Nagal said.

"I am not thinking about the title or points. I just want to take it match by match. I am not under any pressure, I just had a good Diwali."