Shokeen crashes out of ITF qualifiers
Top seed Vivek Shokeen, a former member of India's Davis Cup squad, crashed out of the second round singles qualifying stage of the USD 15,000 CCI ITF Futures men's tennis tournament here on Sunday.
25-year-old Shokeen, formerly ranked a career-high 601 and currently at 1184 -- the highest ranked competitor, fell by the wayside after being beaten 6-4, 6-3 by American William Kendall.
Also beaten in round two at the Cricket Club of India's courts were Sunil Kumar Sipaeya (India), Tejas Chaukulkar (India), Lee Kuan (Chinese Taipei), Mohammad Fariz (India).
Sipaeya, with a world ranking of 1446, lost in straight sets to Ting Yu Chuang of Taipei. Chakulkar, ranked 1481, was surprised by wild card recipient Anvit Bendre in three sets after having received a bye in round one like Shokeen, while Fariz (rank 1827) trailed Chih Peng Hsueh of Taipei 4-6 0-2 when he retired.
Kuan, ranked 1566, was shut out by Austrian rival Sebastian Ofner.
The third and final round of the qualifiers to decide the eight qualifiers for the 32-man main draw will be held tomorrow morning.
Davis Cup player Vishnu Vardhan, who partnered veteran Leander Paes in the doubles competition at the London Olympics, leads the Indian challenge as the top seed in the main draw.
Vishnu, who helped India vanquish New Zealand in the Asia-Oceania Zone Group 1 relegation play-off, is the highest ATP ranked player at 267 in the 13th Futures tournament organised in the country.
The main draw starts tomorrow and the finals are slated for October 27.
Seeded second behind Vishnu is Indonesian number one and Davis Cupper Christopher Rungkat, ranked 294th.
Thirteen Indians, including Vishnu, have secured berths in the 20 direct entries along with four wild cards, all from the host country, in the main draw of 32 in singles.
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