World No. 394 Dhakshineswar Suresh defeated World No. 77 Marcos Giron to secure his first-ever ATP Tour main draw victory
The 26-year-old entered the main draw as a lucky loser, playing on his familiar college tennis home courts at Wake Forest University
Suresh is only the second Indian singles player to win a main draw match at the Winston-Salem Open ATP 250 tournament
Dhakshineswar Suresh pulled off a historic upset on Tuesday, defeating World No. 77 Marcos Giron to win his first ATP Tour match at the Winston-Salem Open. The 26-year-old Indian, ranked 394th globally, beat his opponent 6-3, 7-5 in just over an hour.
Suresh served 17 aces during the match. He is only the second Indian singles player to win a main draw match at this ATP 250 tournament, following Prajnesh Gunneswaran in 2019.
The victory also marks the first time an Indian singles player has won a first-round match at the ATP Tour level since Sumit Nagal defeated Lukas Klein in July 2024.
Familiar Courts Fuel Victory
The 6-foot-5-inch Suresh is highly familiar with the venue. He plays college tennis in the US for Wake Forest University in North Carolina, making the Winston-Salem courts his home turf.
He entered the main draw as a lucky loser for the second consecutive year after losing in the qualifying rounds.
Suresh surged ahead early in the match, breaking Giron to take the first set in 26 minutes. Both players held serve in the second set until the 11th game, when Suresh secured a crucial break. He closed out the match with an angled smash to seal his victory.
"First match of the day, in front of the home crowd and getting my first win on the ATP tour...it's a really special feeling. Last couple of matches have been really tough but I was lucky to get the lucky loser spot. I just came out here and had a little bit of fun," Suresh said.
"Definitely being at home helps because I am familiar with this place, the weather, the courts and everything. I was also able to use the crowd into the match. In the end I was able to compete a little harder," he said.
Nerves And Next Challenges
The Madurai-born player previously made headlines during India's Davis Cup victory against the Netherlands earlier in 2026.
Suresh will face Argentina's eighth seed, Juan Manuel Cerundolo, in the second round.
"This is my first time going into the second round of an ATP tournament... going in there will be nerves. I need to just play the same way I played today," Suresh said.
