Delhi Open: Poonacha-Lock reach finals in men's doubles event

New Delhi [India], February 14 (ANI): India's Niki Kaliyanda Poonacha and Zimbabwe's Courtney John Lock reached the final of the Delhi Open 2025 men's doubles event, defeating third seeds Jay Clarke and Johannes Ingildsen 6-2, 7(7)-6(1) at the DLTA Complex on Friday.
The second-seeded pair dominated the opening set before Clarke and Ingildsen mounted a challenge in the second, forcing a tiebreaker. However, Poonacha and Lock held firm to close out the match in an hour and 24 minutes, as per a press release from DLTA.
Organised by the All India Tennis Association (AITA) and the Delhi Lawn Tennis Association (DLTA), the Delhi Open 2025 is an ATP Challenger 75 tournament played on hard courts with USD 100,000 as prize money on offer. The winner of the singles tournament also rakes in 75 crucial ATP points.
Poonacha and Lock will now compete for the title against the unseeded Japanese pair, Masamichi Imamura and Rio Noguchi, who staged an impressive comeback win against Hynek Barton and Vit Kopriva. After losing the first set 1-6, Imamura and Noguchi rallied to win the second set 6-4 and then triumphed in a nail-biting 12-10 final set to secure their place in the final.
The singles quarterfinals provided plenty of action for fans, with all four matches extending beyond 90 minutes. Top seed Vit Kopriva continued his dominant run, dispatching sixth seed Shintaro Mochizuki 6-2, 6-4 in a high-quality contest. Meanwhile, second seed Billy Harris was pushed to the limit by Elias Ymer, eventually prevailing 6-2, 4-6, 7(7)-6(1) in a three-set battle.
Third seed Tristan Schoolkate progressed after a demanding battle against qualifier Andre Ilagan that lasted two hours and 44 minutes. The match included tiebreakers in the opening two sets, but Schoolkate surged ahead in the final set, clinching a 6(2)-7(7), 7(7)-6(1), 6-2 victory.
Completing the semifinal lineup, Frenchman Kyrian Jacquet held off Michael Geerts, securing a 6-3, 7(7)-6(3) victory to book his spot in the last four. Jacquet will now square up against Kopriva in the penultimate round while second and third seeds, Harris and Schoolkate, will go head to head for a spot in the final. (ANI)