Intense Competition Mark Day Three of Bahrain Open Tennis Challenger

The third day of the fifth edition of the Bahrain Open Tennis Challenger, jointly organised by the Police Sports Association and the Police Officers Club, witnessed strong matchups and highly competitive encounters, amid a notable crowd turnout that boosted players’ enthusiasm and raised the level of competition.
The biggest surprise of the tournament came with the early exit of the top seed, as French player Ugo Blanchet pulled off a remarkable upset over top-seeded Australian Alexei Popyrin, winning in straight sets (7–6, 6–3). The closely contested match featured shifting momentum and high intensity, marking one of the tournament’s most significant upsets so far.
In another strong encounter, second-seed Italian Mattia Bellucci overcame Turkey’s Yankı Erel in straight sets (6–4, 6–4), with both players delivering a technically impressive performance that drew praise from the audience.
Italian Stefano Travaglia also advanced after defeating Japan’s Shintaro Mochizuki (7–6, 6–3) in a balanced match, while German Yannick Hanfmann progressed to the next round following a straight-sets win over India’s Manas Dhamne (6–2, 6–3).
Lithuanian Edas Butvilas recorded a comfortable victory against Czech player Maxim Mrva (6–2, 6–2), confirming his strong readiness for the upcoming rounds after a dominant performance from the outset.
In one of the day’s most exciting matches, Frenchman Hugo Grenier staged an impressive comeback after losing the first set to defeat Kazakhstan’s Beibit Zhukayev (6–7, 6–2, 6–1), displaying outstanding form in the second and third sets. Italy’s Luca Nardi also secured a hard-fought win over Mexico’s Rodrigo Mendez in two tie-break sets (7–6, 7–6).
Austria’s Joel Schwaerzler defeated Ukraine’s Vadym Ursu in straight sets (7–6, 7–4) in a tightly contested match that went down to the final points, while Slovakia’s Lukas Pokorny overcame the Netherlands’ Guy Den Ouden (7–5, 6–4) in another thrilling encounter.
In the final singles match of the day, Norway’s Nicolai Kjaer mounted a strong and thrilling comeback after dropping the opening set, overturning the deficit to defeat Bulgaria’s Dimitar Kuzmanov in three sets, 5–7, 6–1, 7–5.
Kjaer previously competed in the last edition of the tournament and recorded four title victories in ATP Challenger events worldwide in 2025.

In the doubles competition, Bahraini fans closely followed the opening matches, particularly the encounter between the Bahraini duo Yousif Qaed and Ahmed Al Sayed and the American–Dutch pairing of Vasil Kirkov and Bart Stevens. The American–Dutch duo claimed a clear straight-sets victory (6–0, 6–0).
In another match, the Indian–Austrian pair Ram Balaji and Neil Oberleitner secured an important win over Japan’s Shintaro Mochizuki and Italy’s Stefano Travaglia (6–2, 6–1), showing strong coordination and organisation. The Indian duo Saketh Myneni and S. Banthia also advanced after defeating fellow Indians R. Ramanathan and J. Nedunchezhiyan (10–7, 7–6, 6–3).
The doubles category also saw victories for the Indian–Polish pair Arjun Kadhe and Piotr Matuszewski, who defeated Poland’s Szymon Kielan and Filip Peliwo (10–3, 6–2, 6–4), while the Brazilian–Dutch duo Marcelo Demoliner and Jean-Julien Rojer overcame Manas Dhamne of India and Ukraine’s Vadym Ursu (6–1, 6–4).
The day’s matches concluded with the Dutch-Monegasque pairing Sander Arends and Romain Arneodo defeating the French–Thai duo Geoffrey Blancaneaux and Pruchya Isaro (7–5, 6–3, 10–5).
Competition continues tomorrow with strong matches in the advanced rounds, as players look to maintain their momentum toward the title, amid expectations of high standards and strong turnout.