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Luca Nardi closed his Next Gen ATP Finals presented by NEOM campaign in thrilling fashion on Thursday in Jeddah.
The 20-year-old prevailed 3-4(4), 4-2, 4-3(1), 1-4, 4-3(3) in an all-Italian clash with Flavio Cobolli at King Abdullah Sports City to register his first win of the season-ending 21-and-under event. Although victory in the absorbing two-hour, 14-minute Green Group match was not enough to earn a semi-final place for Nardi, the World No. 115 showcased his class as he battled through a groin issue to seal his second tour-level win of the season.
“I am happy with the win,” Nardi told ATPTour.com. “Even if I didn’t qualify, I think today was the best match I played out of the three. I am a bit sad I did not qualify but I did not want to leave Jeddah without a win. I kept fighting today and I am happy.”
A win for Nardi ensured that top seed Arthur Fils is the first player to qualify for the semi-finals at the first ATP-sanctioned event in Saudi Arabia. The top seeded Frenchman takes on Dominic Stricker later today in Jeddah, where Stricker needs to win just one set to also advance. If Fils wins in straight sets, however, Cobolli will join the Frenchman in the last four.
Nardi responded to dropping the opening-set tie-break in style against Cobolli as he produced some stunning attacking tennis to claim the second and third sets. He appeared to clutch his groin when serving at 0-1 in the fourth set, however, and later called for a medical time-out at 0-3.
Cobolli closed out the fourth set with ease and, with his movement slightly hindered, Nardi began to take big cuts at the ball to try and shorten the rallies in the decider. The tactic worked, as he produced a rock-solid deciding tie-break which featured one of the shots of the week, a backhand flick from out wide that had the crowd on its feet.
“I don’t know what happened,” said Nardi when asked about the shot in his on-court interview. “I was just running, not even well because I was injured, and I hit the shot unbelievably. I said sorry because it was lucky. I am happy and I would like to see it later.”
As well as two tour-level victories, Nardi finishes 2023 with a 34-22 record on the ATP Challenger Tour which includes two title runs in Porto and Matsuyama, respectively.
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