Bengaluru, Nov 8 (PTI) Saketh Myneni was on Thursday awarded the final singles wild card for the USD 150,000 Bengaluru Open, which kicks off at KSLTA from Saturday with a qualifying event.

"We are happy to confirm the wild card to Saketh who has emerged as a revelation to Indian tennis. He has had a phenomenal jump in the rankings in the last few years and went on to represent India in the Davis Cup apart from a stellar performance in the Asian Games," Tournament Director Sunil Yajman said.

"The Bengaluru Open just got strengthened with Saketh's participation and I am sure the spectators will enjoy his booming serves," added Yajman.

Before Myneni, defending champion Sumit Nagal, 2017 National runner-up Suraj Prabodh, and local boy Adil Kalyanpur were given the wild cards for main draw.

"Firstly, a big congratulation to all the organisers for making the Bengaluru Open bigger than the previous year. It is one of the biggest challenger tournaments in Asia and it will be a great opportunity for all the Indian players as well as tennis fans," said Myneni.

"On a personal note, a big thank you to the organisers for believing in me and giving me a wild card to the main draw. I hope to utilise this opportunity and perform to the best of my abilities," Saketh said.

The lanky Vizag player, who won Arjuna Award last year, had made the doubles semifinal at the Shenzhen Challenger with partner Ramkumar Ramanathan.

He is currently ranked 315 in singles on the ATP ranking list after starting the year outside top-600. He is ranked 213 in doubles.

"It is always exciting to play in our home country. I am looking forward to Bengaluru Open 2018," Myneni said.

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