Karnataka's Niki Kaliyanda Poonacha has secured a place in the men's doubles main draw of the 2026 Australian Open after winning the Asia-Pacific Wildcard Playoff held in Chengdu, China.
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.
Following his debut win in the Davis Cup, Indian tennis player Niki Poonacha on Saturday said that it was not easy to break on a grass court since the momentum can change at any moment.