Day one of the ATP Delhi Open 2026 delivered thrills at DLTA Complex, headlined by 26-year-old Indian M. Sureshkumar’s last-gasp entry paying immediate dividends. He ousted Italy’s No. 5 seed Lorenzo Carboni, 19, in qualifying with a comeback 4-6, 6-2, 6-3 verdict over 1:53. Losing the opener only fueled his fire.
Wildcard Ramkumar Ramanathan steamrolled Tsung-Hao Huang 6-1, 6-3, asserting Indian dominance early. This Challenger 75 gem boasts 75 points for singles/doubles winners, 44 for singles runner-up, and prizes topping $17,000 for the singles crown.
‘I barely knew if I’d play – entry came super late,’ Sureshkumar shared. ‘Underprepared against a strong youngster, I went in with zero pressure, just to compete well.’
Qualifying saw top seed Denis Yevseyev grind out a three-setter vs. Mitsuki Wei Kang Liang (6-4, 6-7(3), 6-4). No. 10 Eric Vanshelboim rebounded from 5-7 to crush Siddharth Rawat 6-2, 6-2. No. 2 Ionis Zilas toughed out 7-6(6), 6-2, 6-3 over Ishak Iqbal. Luca Castellnuovo and Alexander Binda dispatched Parth Agarwal and Udit Kamboj routinely.
Hyeon Chung dazzled, blanking Nitin Kumar Sinha 6-2, 6-1. Upsets abounded: Alexander Donski bested No. 12 SD Prajwal Dev 6-3, 7-5; Uisung Park stunned No. 9 Mukund Shashikumar 6-4, 6-2. Monday’s final qualifiers decide six main draw slots, setting the stage for a high-stakes week on Delhi’s courts.