A meltdown notwithstanding, Ilya Ivashka managed to come out on top in his semifinal outing against Hamish Stewart at the S.M. Krishna Memorial Open ATP Challenger tennis here on Friday (May 22, 2026).

Trailing 3-4 in the second set, Ivashka was furious when the chair umpire overruled a line call in favour of Stewart. 

Ivashka, who had hit the last shot of the rally into the net, was convinced that the deuce point must be replayed. The umpire, however, awarded the point to Stewart, citing that the original ‘out’ call from the linesperson did not affect Ivashka’s shot. 

“No! No! No chance!,” Ivashka screamed at the top of his lungs.

Ivashka sat in his chair and demanded to see the supervisor, who agreed with the umpire’s decision. 

Ivashka reluctantly went back to the court, going on to lose the second set 3-6. The Belarus player exchanged verbal volleys with the supervisor — seated in the stands — on his way out of the court. 

The short break before the third set allowed Ivashka to regroup. The 32-year-old stayed focussed on the job, completing a 6-3, 3-6, 6-2 win over third-seed Stewart. 

Ivashka will face fourth-seed Petr Bar Biryukov in the singles final on Friday. 

In the doubles semifinals, the Indian pair of Adil Kalyanpur and Mukund Sasikumar took out Charles Barry (Ireland) and Joshua Charlton (Australia) 6-4, 6-3. 

Niki Poonacha and Saketh Myneni, who won the Karnataka Open last week, fell to Biryukov and Grigoriy Lomakin.

The results (Semifinals): Ilya Ivashka bt Hamish Stewart (GBR) 6-3, 3-6, 6-2; Petr Bar Biryukov bt Alastair Gray (GBR) 3-6, 6-4, 7-6(5).

Doubles: Adil Kalyanpur & Mukund Sasikumar bt Charles Barry (Irl) & Joshua Charlton (Aus) 6-4, 6-3; Petr Bar Biryukov & Grigoriy Lomakin (Kaz) bt Niki Kaliyanda Poonacha & Saketh Myneni 6-3, 6-4.

Mukund Sasikumar was handed a great chance to seal a semifinal berth at the S.M. Krishna Memorial Open here on Thursday, but he failed to capitalise on it. 

In the middle of the third set, his opponent Alastair Gray called for a medical time out. Weighed down by a troublesome back, Gray moved gingerly when he came back to the court.  

Sasikumar would have liked to keep the rallies going long to trouble an injured Gray, but a slew of unforced errors damaged his chances. With nothing to lose, second seed Gray went on the offensive, ripping one-handed down-the-line backhand winners to stay afloat. 

An animated Sasikumar (world no. 524) exclaimed loudly after every good play, but it was the fighting Briton who prevailed 6-2, 5-7, 7-6(3). 

Gray will face fourth seed Petr Bar Biryukov in the semifinal on Friday. 

The results: Quarterfinals: Alastair Gray (GBR) bt Mukund Sasikumar 6-2, 5-7, 7-6(3); Hamish Stewart (GBR) bt Ognjen Milic (Ser) 6-2, 6-1; Petr Bar Biryukov bt Mitsuki Wei Kang Leong (Mas) 6-2, 5-7, 6-3; Ilya Ivashka bt Alex Hernandez (Mex) 6-1, 6-2. 

A clinical Keegan Smith outclassed Philip Sekulic 6-2, 7-5 in the final to emerge as the Karnataka Open ATP Challenger singles champion at the S.M. Krishna Tennis Stadium here on Saturday (May 16, 2026). 

The Indian duo of Niki Poonacha and Saketh Myneni took top honours in doubles, defeating Petr Bar Biryukov-Grigoriy Lomakin 6-2, 6-3 in the summit clash.

The unseeded Poonacha-Myneni notched up a first tournament win together. The occasion was particularly sweet for Poonacha, who claimed a maiden Challenger title in his home city. 

“We decided to play together just last week,” 38-year-old Myneni said. 

Myneni stated that the pairing worked well because Poonacha’s aggressive game complements his measured style. 

Poonacha and Myneni took home $2,980 and 50 ATP points. 

In the singles, Smith’s all-round game won the day. The 6’7” American showed fantastic court coverage to frustrate Sekulic (world no. 357). When top-seed Smith came to the net, his soft touch — evidenced by a delicious backhand half-volley in the first set — drew applause from the crowd. 

Sekulic’s electric forehand, which worked so well in his semifinal win over Kriish Tyagi, could not find the mark on Saturday. Smith (world no. 289) did not make it easy either, keeping his returns deep and flat. 

Smith claimed $9,500 and 50 ATP ranking points, while Sekulic collected $5,500 and 25 ATP points.

The results (final): Keegan Smith (USA) bt Philip Sekulic (Aus) 6-2, 7-5. 

Doubles: Niki Poonacha & Saketh Myneni bt Petr Bar Biryukov & Grigoriy Lomakin (Kaz) 6-2, 6-3. 

The Karnataka Open ATP Challenger tennis tournament, which commences at the S.M. Krishna Tennis Stadium here on Monday, offers a chance for Indian players to earn valuable ranking points.

The likes of sixth-seed Karan Singh, Sidharth Rawat, Prajwal Dev and Sasikumar Mukund will look to use this week-long home tournament — the first of back-of-back Challenger events that will be held at this venue — to make stirring runs and rise up the ATP ladder. 

Maan Kesharwani, Dev Javia and Krish Tyagi have been handed main draw wild cards. 

Formerly known as the ATP Bengaluru Challenger, this tournament carries a prize purse of $63,000.

American Keegan Smith, now at a career best ranking of 289, has been given top billing. Scotland’s Hamish Stewart (world no. 328) and Russian Petr Bar (world no. 337) are two other top contenders. 

In doubles, the Niki Poonacha and Saketh Myneni combo stands out as one of the most experienced teams in the draw.