Kolkata, March 11 Shanker Heisnam earned his first ATP ranking point as he defeated Stijn Pel of the Netherlands to advance to the pre-quarterfinals of the men's singles at the Central Excise & CGST ITF M25 Kolkata on Wednesday.
The 19-year-old from Manipur, who received a wildcard entry into the main draw, won 7-6 (4), 6-3.
Heisnam will next face top seed Luca Castelnuovo of Switzerland in the pre-quarterfinals on Thursday.
Both players lost their serve once as the opening set went into a tie-break, which Heisnam won 7-4.
Heisnam, the champion of the 2025 Khelo India Youth Games, started strongly in the second set, engaging in long rallies and varying his pace to disrupt his opponent.
He broke qualifier Pel twice to gain a 3-0 lead, although he briefly faltered and lost his serve once.
From 3-2, Heisnam took complete control, winning three consecutive games to secure the victory and justify the faith placed in him through the wildcard.
In another match, sixth seed Leo Borg, son of the legendary Bjorn Borg, quickly defeated Aniketh Venkataraman of India 6-1, 6-3 to reach the pre-quarterfinals.