Pranaav/Sikki looking for another title while Arundhati & Ruthvika face off in RD 2 at Russian GP

INDIAN mixed doubles pair of Pranaav Jerry Chopra and Sikki Reddy will be eagerly waiting to begin their campaign at the Russian Open Grand Prix which began yesterday. They have been seeded No. 2 and their confidence level will be boosted after winning their first Grand Prix Gold in Brazil.

They got a bye in the first round and will now take on locals Artem Serpionov/Tatjana Bibik in round two tomorrow. Apart from the other seeded pairs in the tournament, a likely tougher opponent could be Vladimar Ivanov /Valeria Sorokina whom they are likely only to meet in the finals, provided both reach the finale.

Also tomorrow women's doubles pair of Jakkampudi Meghana/ Poorvisha S Ram will begin their campaign against Victoria Slobodyanyuk/Elizaveta Tarasova. While in the women's singles, 3rd seed Tanvi Lad faces Ekaterina Kut, the former got a bye in round one. Same was the case with 4th seed Ruthvika Shivani.

Earlier today, Arundhati Pantawane defeated Anastasiia Sharapova in straight games 21-5, 21-9 to have a face off against compatriot Ruthvika in round two tomorrow.

On the other hand, in the men's singles category, Sourabh Verma withdrew from the tournament while Siril Verma earned a place in round two after triumphing over Andrey Jdanov 21-7, 21-11. He will face 3rd seed Misha Zilberman from Israel.