Sumit Nagal triumphs on clay in Buenos Aires
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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)