Yuki Bhambri made his return to competitive tennis after over two years away due to a complicated injury layoff and put up a good fight before going down in the first round, bringing India’s singles challenge to an end at the Singapore Open on Wednesday.
Meanwhile, Prajnesh Gunneswaran started his campaign at the ATP Challenger in Nur-sultan with a win, after back-to-back opening losses at his last three Challengers. He beat Dostanbek Tashbulatov 6-2, 6-3 and will play Brayden Schnur next.
Playing his first professional match since October 2018, the now unranked Bhambri lost 6-3, 7-6 (3) to Australia’s Matthew Ebden. The 28-year-old had entered the ATP 250 tournament using his protected ranking of 127. This will allow him an entry in nine tournaments in six months or 12 tournaments of his choice in as many months as per ranking eligibility.
First images of Yuki Bhambri back in action at the ATP 250 Singapore Open 1st round
📷Singapore Open