Indian tennis player Saketh Myneni achieved a milestone as he entered the main draw of a Grand Slam for the first time in his career. The 28-year-old athlete from Andhra Pradesh will be seen playing in the men's singles competition at the US Open 2016, starting Aug. 29.
Myneni achieved the feat after comfortably beating Serbia's Pedja Krstin 6-3 6-0 in the third qualifying round of the US Open on Friday, to enter the main draw. He will now take on Czech Republic's Jiri Vesely, ranked 48 in the world, in the first round of the men's singles competition at the Grand Slam.
If he manages to progress to the second round, Myneni could potentially reach a showdown with current men's tennis World No. 1 and Serbian superstar, Novak Djokovic.
The lanky Indian tennis player made it to the qualifiers of the Australian Open and the French Open earlier this year, but never made it to the main draw. This time, however, he finally broke the barrier.
Saketh, ranked 143rd in the world by the ATP (Association of Tennis Professionals), is only the third Indian male tennis player in recent years to make it to the main draw of a tennis Grand Slam in a singles event. Yuki Bhambri made it to the first round of the Australian Open in the 2015 and the 2016 editions, while Somdev Devvarman made it to five tennis Grand Slam tournaments between 2009 and 2013, but could never progress past the second round.
