Chennai: India’s singles hope Sumit Nagal continued his dream run as he eased his way into the Chennai Open Challenger final here on Saturday. The top-ranked Indian brushed aside third seed Dalibor Svrcina of the Czech Republic 6-3, 6-4 at the SDAT Tennis Stadium to make his eighth Challenger final and inched closer to a top-100 spot in the world rankings.
Towards the end of the match, Nagal suffered a shoulder injury but was able to cross the line despite a few nervy moments. In the final, Nagal will meet Italian top seed Luca Nardi, who beat Jason Tseng 6-4, 4-6, 7-6 (8-6) in a pulsating encounter after saving a match point.
Nagal started his encounter by saving three break points to hold serve in the opening game. In the fifth game, Svrcina erred in a 20-shot plus rally that had everything – net approaches, scrambling at the backcourt, delicate touches and volleys. The rally strengthened Nagal’s position and he tapped into the opportunity in the following game. A couple of unforced errors from the Czech allowed Nagal to break and take the opening set.
Like the opening set, the top-ranked Indian had to save multiple break points to hold serve early in the second. From there, Nagal went from strength to strength and surged to a 5-1 lead, before his shoulder started bothering him. Nagal took a five-minute break to treat the injury and Svrcina staged a comeback to win the next three games and was a break away from levelling things up. At 30-30 in the 10th game, Nagal’s forehand was called ‘out’ by the line judge, but it was later overruled by the chair umpire.
The call changed the complexion of the match as Nagal was just a point away from victory. Had the call stayed, Svrcina would have had a break point. Nevertheless, Nagal made the most of the opportunity and converted the match point to clinch the tie. “The shoulder injury has been there for years. The conditions are tough here and when the balls are used for a longer duration, it gets tough to hit. I have been dealing with the injury for many years and I am alright,” Nagal updated on his injury.
“I feel I am at my best (mentally, technically and physically) right now and winning (the final) will be huge in my career. A win will also help me get into the top-100 in the rankings,” Nagal added.
Ramkumar-Saketh pair clinches doubles title:
The Indian pairing of Ramkumar Ramanathan and Saketh Myneni got the better of fourth seeds Rithvik Choudhary Bollipalli and Niki Kaliyanda Poonacha 6-3, 3-6, 10-5 to clinch the doubles title. In the super tiebreaker, the experienced pair surged ahead to secure the crown.
Towards the end of the match, Nagal suffered a shoulder injury but was able to cross the line despite a few nervy moments. In the final, Nagal will meet Italian top seed Luca Nardi, who beat Jason Tseng 6-4, 4-6, 7-6 (8-6) in a pulsating encounter after saving a match point.
Nagal started his encounter by saving three break points to hold serve in the opening game. In the fifth game, Svrcina erred in a 20-shot plus rally that had everything – net approaches, scrambling at the backcourt, delicate touches and volleys. The rally strengthened Nagal’s position and he tapped into the opportunity in the following game. A couple of unforced errors from the Czech allowed Nagal to break and take the opening set.
Like the opening set, the top-ranked Indian had to save multiple break points to hold serve early in the second. From there, Nagal went from strength to strength and surged to a 5-1 lead, before his shoulder started bothering him. Nagal took a five-minute break to treat the injury and Svrcina staged a comeback to win the next three games and was a break away from levelling things up. At 30-30 in the 10th game, Nagal’s forehand was called ‘out’ by the line judge, but it was later overruled by the chair umpire.
The call changed the complexion of the match as Nagal was just a point away from victory. Had the call stayed, Svrcina would have had a break point. Nevertheless, Nagal made the most of the opportunity and converted the match point to clinch the tie. “The shoulder injury has been there for years. The conditions are tough here and when the balls are used for a longer duration, it gets tough to hit. I have been dealing with the injury for many years and I am alright,” Nagal updated on his injury.
“I feel I am at my best (mentally, technically and physically) right now and winning (the final) will be huge in my career. A win will also help me get into the top-100 in the rankings,” Nagal added.
Ramkumar-Saketh pair clinches doubles title:
The Indian pairing of Ramkumar Ramanathan and Saketh Myneni got the better of fourth seeds Rithvik Choudhary Bollipalli and Niki Kaliyanda Poonacha 6-3, 3-6, 10-5 to clinch the doubles title. In the super tiebreaker, the experienced pair surged ahead to secure the crown.