BENGALURU, May 23, 2026 (by Anirudh Suresh)
For the second time in two weeks, Bengaluru witnessed a first-time ATP Challenger winner as Petr Bar Biryukov beat Ilya Ivashka 7-6(0), 4-6, 6-4 in the final of the S.M. Krishna Memorial Open on Saturday to clinch his maiden title on the Challenger Tour. The 24-year-old Russian powered through the former world number 40 as he hit a whopping 14 aces to be crowned champion.
This is the left-handed Bar Biryukov’s sixth singles title of his career — he’d won five ITF World Tennis Tour titles before today — but, notably, his first since emerging victorious in a M15 event in Astana back in August 2025. As a result of the win, the big-serving 24-year-old has jumped 67 spots in the rankings, taking him to No.268 in the world – just one shy of his career-best ranking of 267 which he achieved in October last year.
The final today was decided by very fine margins, evident by the fact that there were only two breaks of serve in the entire match. As it turned out, the margins went the way of Bar Biryukov, for whom a solitary break of serve — which he managed in the final set of the match — was enough to seal the title. The contest, which was played at a rapid pace, took just over two hours to wrap up.
A moment he’ll never forget 👏
Petr Bar Biryukov claims his maiden ATP Challenger crown after overcoming Ivashka 7-6(0), 4-6, 6-4 in Bengaluru#ATPChallenger pic.twitter.com/opNhub8MLa
— ATP Challenger (@ATPChallenger) May 23, 2026
“I have no words because I’m so happy,” Bar Biryukov, who also made the final of the doubles, said after his win.
“The tournament was so tough because I played singles and doubles both. This was my eighth match of the tournament, so it was very hard. When I was playing the second set, I thought I would die, but I somehow managed to keep going and keep pushing in the third set.”
From the very first point, the match was played on Bar Biryukov’s terms. The 24-year-old hit 31 winners but also 39 unforced errors on top of that. Put simply, he threw the kitchen sink at Ivashka, and the tactic ultimately ended up working in his favour.
“Today I just wanted to just attack at every opportunity. I know Ilya [Ivashka] is a very tough player. So I just tried to hit as hard as possible,” Bar Biryukov said of his tactics.
The first-time Challenger winner further revealed that he was pleased with his backhand. On the day, the Russian let rip plenty of flat backhands that posed Ivashka a lot of trouble.
“Usually my backhand is not very good, which is why I tend to slice a lot, but today I felt like my backhand was so good,” he said.
Despite emerging victorious, Bar Biryukov admitted that there is still plenty of room for improvement in his game, especially the mental aspect of it. The 24-year-old often has the tendency to lose the plot mid-match, and it was one such lapse in concentration that cost him in the second set today.
“The mental part is my main problem, I’m trying to work on it. In this tournament, though, I thought I showed very good mental strength,” the singles champion said.
Ivashka, meanwhile, has had a really productive couple of weeks despite falling short in the final today. The 32-year-old began the month outside the Top 700 but he’ll be ranked No.518 when the updated rankings are released on Monday.
