Sumit Nagal triumphs on clay in Buenos Aires

Sumit Nagal was quite at home on clay as he beat the eighth seed Facundo Bagnis of Argentina in the final of the $54,160 Challenger tennis tournament in Buenos Aires, Argentina, on Sunday.

It was a smart finish by the 22-year-old Sumit, who had dropped a solitary game in the semifinals, after having endured three three-setters earlier.

The title was worth 80 ATP points and $7,200 for the 161st ranked Sumit, supported by the Virat Kohli Foundation. The runner-up collected 48 points and $4,240.

HIs second Challenger title, following the one in Bengaluru in 2017, should take Sumit to a career best rank, past his previous best of 159.

After a string of five semifinals earlier in the season and a final in Banja Luka, Bosnia and Herzegovina recently, this was a logical step forward for Sumit. He had indeed captured the imagination of the country’s tennis fraternity by taking a set off Roger Federer in his maiden Grand Slam at the US Open.

Meanwhile, in the $1,895,290 ATP 500 event in Tokyo, Divij Sharan in partnership with Artem Sitak of New Zealand beat Santiago Gonzalez and Aisam-Ul-Haq Qureshi 7-6(4), 7-6(5) in the second and final qualifying round, after a bye in the first, to make the doubles main draw.

The results:

$54,160 Challenger, Buenos Aires, Argentina
Sngles (final): Sumit Nagal bt Facundo Bagnis (ARG) 6-4, 6-2.

$1,895,290 ATP 500, Tokyo, Japan
Doubles (qualifying second and final round): Artem Sitak (NZL) & Divij Sharan bt Santiago Gonzalez & Aisam-Ul-Haq Qureshi (PAK) 7-6(4), 7-6(5).

(Courtesy: The Hindu)