India's highest-ranked tennis player in singles, Sumit Nagal, took a step closer to securing a spot in the French Open main draw, defeating Italys Roberto Marcora 6-3, 6-3 in the first round of qualifiers.
Another Indian, Ramkumar Ramanathan, also moved into the second round of qualifiers after rallying past the higher-ranked Michael Mmoh of the USA 2-6, 7-6 (4), 6-3 on Tuesday while Prajnesh Gunneswaran failed to cross the first hurdle.
Nagal, 23 -- currently ranked 143rd in the world in singles and who competed in the main draw of the Australian Open this year -- was in good touch against his 192-ranked Italian opponent, dominating from the start.
Nagal will now take on 23-year-old Chilean Alejandro Tabilo (world ranking 166) in the second round of qualifiers.
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The 215th-ranked Ramanathan won his first match in six years on French clay after winning on his debut at the Roland Garros qualifiers in 2015.
On Tuesday, the 26-year-old Indian, despite the overcast conditions, kept chipping and charging against his American opponent to clinch the second set tie-break with a serve-and-volley point. He hit 26 winners past Mmoh during the rain-interrupted contest.
Ramanathan will take on world No. 33 and Asian Games champion, Uzbekistan's Denis Istomin, in the next round.
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Gunneswaran, currently ranked 151 in the world and seeded 32nd in qualifiers, continued to flounder in the qualifiers, losing to Germany's Oscar Otte 6-2, 6-2.
