BENGALURU/STARNBERG, January 10, 2026
Top seed Pedro Martinez crowned a memorable week at the 10th Dafa News Bengaluru Open 2026 by defeating Kazakhstan’s Timofey Skatov 7-6(5), 6-3 in Saturday’s singles final of the ATP Challenger Tour hard-court event hosted by the SM Krishna Tennis Stadium. The 28-year-old Spaniard lifted the trophy along with a $33,650 winner’s cheque and 125 ATP Ranking points.
The rain-interrupted championship match delivered plenty of drama from the outset. Martinez pressed early, creating break chances in the third game, but Skatov’s resilient defence and steady serving kept the opening set finely balanced. The Kazakh elevated his game midway through the set, dominating several extended rallies with deep, penetrating returns. However, Martinez absorbed the pressure and forced the set into a tiebreak after Skatov saved multiple set points in a marathon service game. In the breaker, the world No. 96 from Valencia capitalized on key unforced errors to edge ahead and take the first set.
Riding that momentum, Martinez struck immediately in the second set, breaking serve in the opening game and dictating play with clean ball-striking and precise placement. Skatov continued to battle, but the former world No. 40 stayed firmly in control, sealing victory with another decisive break in the ninth game to cap off an impressive title run in Bengaluru after one hour and 56 minutes.
It’s time to celebrate
Pedro Martinez is the champion in Bengaluru, besting Skatov 7-6(5), 6-3#ATPChallenger pic.twitter.com/x7Fune6FoO
— ATP Challenger (@ATPChallenger) January 10, 2026
“I played here eight years ago and the tournament has improved a lot since then,” Martinez said during the on-court ceremony. “The end of the last season was pretty tough for me, as I had to deal with some medical issues and I wasn’t able to compete at my best. So, I am very happy to win the title here.”
Martinez captured his eighth ATP Challenger Tour career title in addition to his tour-level triumph in Santiago de Chile four years ago.
Barrientos/Kittay prevail in doubles
Earlier in the day, Colombia’s Nicolas Barrientos and US-American Benjamin Kittay prevailed in a high-quality doubles final, edging past French pairing Arthur Reymond and Luca Sanchez 7-6(9), 7-5 to claim the championship and $9,900 in prize money.
Reymond and Sanchez started the match strongly, breaking the serve of Barrientos and Kittay in the fourth game of the first set with sharp net play to take an early lead. But Barrientos and Kittay broke back immediately as Reymond found the net on key shots. Both pairs then held serve to force a tie-break, which stayed evenly poised for a long time before Barrientos and Kittay produced a series of outstanding returns to clinch the set.
The second set followed a similar script, with Barrientos and Kittay getting broken early and then breaking back, as neither side gave much away on serve. In the 12th game, Barrientos and Kittay inched close to the victory with strong smashes, but Reymond and Sanchez defended well, only for a crucial double fault from Reymond soon after to hand Barrientos and Kittay the decisive break and the doubles title.
