KATHMANDU, OCTOBER 27

Nepal’s Abhishek Bastola has won his first two matches at the UTR Pro Tennis Tour Bengaluru, defeating India’s second seed Vansh Bisht and Romania’s Adrian Constantin in consecutive victories.

Bastola beat Constantin in the second round on Monday after opening his campaign with a commanding 6-1, 6-1 win over Bisht on Sunday. The opening match lasted 79 minutes, with Bastola overcoming an opponent who had a higher Universal Tennis Rating (UTR) of 12.37 against his own 11.75.

The victory over Constantin followed Bastola’s strong start at the Rohan Bopanna Tennis Academy, where the men’s event is being played on indoor hard courts.

Bastola will next face India’s Svarmanyu Singh on Wednesday as he looks to extend his winning run.

The Nepali player is the first and only player from the country to compete on the UTR Pro Tennis Tour. The Bengaluru event is his 21st appearance on the circuit.

The 29-year-old from Pokhara has previously broken new ground for Nepali tennis, becoming the first Nepali male player to earn an official International Tennis Federation (ITF) world ranking and the first Nepali to compete in an ATP Challenger Tour qualifying event. He has also represented Nepal at four editions of the Asian Games and holds the country’s record for Davis Cup singles victories.

Bastola’s latest results add to his efforts to establish a presence for Nepal on the international professional tennis circuit, where players have limited opportunities to compete at home.