 "Sumit Nagal in action against Holger Rune during the Monte Carlo Masters on Wednesday. Reuters")
Sumit Nagal stayed on course for his third title of the year by reaching the ATP Perugia Challenger final. He fought hard to defeat former World No 37 Bernabe Zapata Miralles of Spain in a 7-6 (2), 1-6, 6-2 clash on Saturday.
In the final, he will face Luciano Darderi of Italy who beat Germany’s Daniel Altmaier 7-6, 6-3.
Nagal, currently at a career-best ranking of 77, faced stiff competition in the first set but showed composure to win the tie-breaker.
The 26-year-old Indian battled back in the decisive set with strong returns to claim victory over the Spaniard in their third encounter.
Having notched his ninth consecutive win since triumphing at the Heilbronn Challenger earlier in the month, Nagal remains in contention for back-to-back Challenger titles, eyeing a breakthrough into the top-50.
It has been a year to remember for India’s top-ranked player. He made a historic second round appearance at the Australian Open, won the ATP Challenger in Chennai, and made direct entries for the French Open and the upcoming Wimbledon. He has also qualified for the Paris Olympics in the singles event with a maiden Wimbledon appearance also on the cards.
In the doubles final in Perguia, N Sriram Balaji and his German partner Andre Begemann lost to top-seeds Guido Andreozzi from Argentina and Miguel Angel Reyes-Varela from Mexico with a 4-6, 5-7 scoreline.