Dhakshineswar Suresh and Luca Pow continued their impressive run at the ATP 250 Winston-Salem Open, advancing to the semifinals with a thrilling victory over the experienced pair of Gonzalo Escobar and Aleksandr Nedovyesov. The Indo-British duo secured their place in the final four after a hard-fought 6-1, 4-6, 10-8 win.
Suresh and Pow dominated the first set, breaking their opponents twice to take it 6-1. Their powerful serving and sharp returns kept Escobar and Nedovyesov on the back foot. However, the Ecuadorian-Kazakh pair bounced back in the second set, finding their rhythm to level the match at one set apiece with a 6-4 win.
It all came down to the final game, where both pairs traded blows in a nail-biting finish. Suresh and Pow managed to hold their nerve, overcoming a late surge from Escobar and Nedovyesov to clinch the match 10-8, sealing their spot in the semifinals of their debut ATP event together.
The stats highlighted the tight nature of the contest, with Suresh and Pow winning 60 points to their opponents’ 52. The duo’s serving was a key factor, with Dhakshineswar Suresh particularly excelling on first serve, achieving a 73 percent first-serve percentage and winning 77 percent of those points. Despite a higher number of double faults, their effective return game and ability to capitalize on break points proved decisive.
Dhakshineswar Suresh’s stellar run at the Winston-Salem Open 2024
Making his ATP debut, Dhakshineswar Suresh, ranked 1089th, made waves by stunning Russia’s Alexey Zakharov, ranked 337th, in the first round of qualifying at the ATP 250 Winston-Salem Open. Suresh, also a student-athlete at Wake Forest University, electrified the home crowd with a well-earned 7-6(5), 6-2 victory, showcasing his potential on a bigger stage.
However, Suresh’s singles campaign ended in the following round, when he faced the 232nd-ranked Learner Tien. Despite Dhakshineswar Suresh’s impressive nine aces, Tien’s steady baseline game proved too much, leading to a 3-6, 4-6 defeat for the young Indian player.
In doubles, Dhakshineswar Suresh partnered with Luca Pow for a thrilling Round of 16 clash. The pair faced a tough battle against Argentina’s Andres Molteni and Ariel Behar. After dropping the first set 4-6, Suresh and Pow won the second set 7-5. The match culminated in a nail-biting super tiebreak, where Suresh and Pow edged out their opponents 10-8, securing a spot in the quarterfinals.
