Bengaluru, March 1 (IANS) Top seeds Anirudh Chandrasekar and Ray Ho beat Australia’s Blake Bayldon and Matthew Christopher Romios 6-2, 6-4 to win the men’s doubles title in the 2025 Bengaluru Open at the KSLTA Tennis Stadium here on Saturday. The Indo-Taiwanese pair delivered a commanding performance, with Chandrasekar and Ho picking up their sixth ATP Challenger title.
Their victory also maintained India’s strong doubles legacy at the Bengaluru Open, where seven of the nine editions have now featured at least one Indian champion.
Organised by the Karnataka State Lawn Tennis Association (KSLTA), the Bengaluru Open is an ATP Challenger 125 tournament. It currently holds the distinction of being India’s biggest international tennis event. Victors of the doubles event, Chandrasekar and Ho, received a USD 9,900 cash award and 125 valuable ATP ranking points.
Backed by a passionate home crowd, Chandrasekar and Ho set the tone early, mixing intricate net play with powerful shots to build momentum. They capitalised on back-to-back double faults from their opponents to break in the third game before securing another break in game seven to wrap up the first set.
In the second, a stunning lofted forehand winner by Chandrasekar sealed a crucial break in game five, allowing the top seeds to take full control. From there, they defended their serve with precision, closing out the match in just over an hour in front of an ecstatic crowd.
In the singles event, seventh seed Japanese Shintaro Mochizuki advanced to the final with a hard-fought 6-1, 3-6, 6-4 win over James McCabe. The 2019 Wimbledon boys’ singles champion dominated the opening set, saving breakpoints in games two and four while breaking his opponent three times to take a commanding lead. However, McCabe responded in the second set, capitalising on key breaks in games seven and nine to force a decider.
Mochizuki regained control in the third set, breaking McCabe in the opening game. Though the Australian struck back in game six, the rising Japanese star immediately reclaimed the advantage and held firm to seal victory after two hours and 23 minutes.
From the second singles semifinal, Brandon Holt secured his place in the final with a 6-2, 7-6(4) victory over Billy Harris, who had made the most of his second chance as a Lucky Loser from qualifying. Holt dominated the opening set, breaking Harris in game four and saving four breakpoints in game five before sealing the set with another break in game eight.
Harris fought back in the second set, breaking Holt in game three, but the American immediately responded in the following game. The Brit then saved three breakpoints in game eight to force a tiebreaker, where he surged to a 4-2 lead. Holt, however, turned the momentum in his favour, winning five consecutive points to close out the match and book a final showdown against Mochizuki.
Results:
Doubles (final): [1] A Chandrasekar (IND)/R Ho (TPE) d. [2] B Bayldon (AUS)/MC Romios (AUS) 6-2, 6-4
Singles (semifinals): [7] Shintaro Mochizuki (JPN) d. James McCabe (AUS) 6-1, 3-6, 6-4; [3] Brandon Holt (USA) d. [LL] Billy Harris (GBR) 6-2, 7-6(4).
–IANS
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