Kuzmanov To Challenge Vukic For Bengaluru Open Crown

Dimitar Kuzmanov (photo: Bengaluru Open)

BENGALURU/STARNBERG, February 19, 2022

Aleksandar Vukic of Australia and Bulgarian Dimitar Kuzmanov will compete in Sunday’s singles final of the Bengaluru Open 2. Vukic, top seed of the ATP Challenger 80 hard-court tournament, defeated last week’s runner-up Borna Gojo of Croatia 7-6(5), 6-3 on Saturday afternoon.

The World No. 135 from Australia struck 11 aces and won 100 per cent of his first-service points to prevail after one hour and 26 minutes.

Later in the day, Kuzmanov rallied from a set down to overcome No. 3 seed Enzo Couacaud of France 4-6, 7-5, 6-3. The 28-year-old Plovdiv native capitalized on seven of his 17 break-point chances to secure victory in two hours and 44 minutes.

World No. 209 Kuzmanov is seeking his second ATP Challenger crown following his maiden triumph in Barcelona, Spain last year. Vukic could lift his maiden trophy. The pair will meet for the first time.7

Erler/Kadhe triumph in doubles

In other action, Alexander Erler of Austria and Arjun Kadhe from India captured the doubles title. The top seeds fought past the tournament’s No. 3 seeds and home favourites Saketh Myneni and Ramkumar Ramanathan 6-3, 6-7(4), 10-7. The encounter lasted one hour and 25 minutes.

By winning their first team title, Erler and Kadhe split $3,100 in prize money and earned 80 ATP Doubles Ranking points.