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Sumit Nagal reached his first ATP Challenger Tour final in almost four years in Rome on Saturday.
World No. 347 Nagal, who had to qualify for the main draw in the Italian capital, came from a set down to win 2-6, 7-5, 6-4 against Belgium’s Joris De Loore, World No. 198, in two hours 35 minutes to reach his first final since lifting his second title in Buenos Aires in 2019. He won his maiden title in Bengaluru in 2017.
The 25-year-old Indian, who has a career-high ranking of 122, will face Dutchman Jesper De Jong in the summit clash. De Jong, World No. 234, beat local player Flavio Cobolli 7-5, 6-3 in the second semifinal.
Jhajjar-born Nagal is the first Indian man to reach a Challenger Tour final since Prajnesh Gunneswaran (Monterrey, 2022) and looks to become the first since Ramkumar Ramanathan (Manama, 2021) to win a tournament.
Nagal, who trains under former India No. 1 Somdev Devvarrman, suffered from a hip injury late in 2021 and was out of action for five months. By October last year, he was ranked as low as 638.
However, having reached at least the second round in four of the nine Challengers he has played in 2023 with his best result coming in Rome, Nagal is set to re-enter the top 300 as per live ATP Rankings.
Nagal’s run to the final in Rome
- ⦿
Semifinal – Won 2-6, 7-5, 6-4 against Joris De Loore (Belgium) - ⦿
Quarterfinal – Won 7-5, 6-0 against Max Houkes (Netherlands) - ⦿
Round of 16 – Won 6-3, 6-0 against Fausto Tabacco (Italy) - ⦿
Round of 32 – Won 6-2, 6-4 against Francesco Maestrelli (Italy) - ⦿
Final Qualifying Round – Won 7-5, 5-7, 6-2 against Viktor Durasovic (Norway) - ⦿
First Qualifying Round – Won 6-4, 6-1 against Jacopo Berrettini (Italy)
Remaining Tennis Results Around The World
$160,000 Challenger, Seoul, Korea
Doubles (semifinals): Yunseong Chung (Kor) & Yuta Shimizu (Jpn) bt Arjun Kadhe & Purav Raja 1-6, 6-1, [10-5].
€73,000 Challenger, Rome, Italy
Singles (semifinals): Sumit Nagal bt Joris De Loore (Bel) 2-6, 7-5, 6-4.
$25,000 ITF men, Jakarta, Indonesia
Singles (semifinals): Yanki Erel (Tur) bt Digvijay Pratap Singh 6-3, 6-2.
Doubles (final): Matthew Romios & Brandon Daly Walkin (Aus) bt Ray Ho (Tpe) & Parikshit Somani 7-5, 6-4.
$60,000 ITF women, Charlottesville, USA
Doubles (semifinals): Sophie Chang (USA) & Yuan Yue (Chn) bt Jessy Rompies (Ina) & Prarthana Thombare 6-3, 6-4.
$40,000 ITF women, Calvi, France
Doubles (final): Naiktha Bains & Maia Lumsden (GBR) bt Estelle Cascino (Fra) & Ankita Raina 6-4, 3-6, [10-7].
$25,000 ITF women, Nottingham, Britain
Singles (semifinals): Arina Rodionova (Aus) bt Rutuja Bhosale 6-1, 6-1.
Doubles (semifinals): Rutuja Bhosale & Arianne Hartono (Ned) bt Elena Malygina (Est) & Katarina Stresnakova (Svk) 6-4, 6-1.
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