Sumit Nagal sets up Chennai Open final against top seed Luca Nardi

India’s top-ranked tennis player Sumit Nagal overcame the challenge of Dalibor Svrcina, the third seed from Czech Republic, in straight sets to move into the final of the Chennai Open on Saturday. The second-seeded Nagal defeated the 21-year-old Czech player 6-3, 6-4 in a match that lasted nearly two hours to set up a title clash with top seed Luca Nardi of Italy. The 20-year-old Nardi overcame stiff challenge from unseeded Chinese Taipei player Chun-Hsin Tseng 6-4, 4-6, 7-6 (6) in a marathon three-hour encounter. The 26-year-old Nagal was definitely the better player on the day, serving superbly in the first set and earning a whole lot of points on his second serve. In the second set, Nagal converted both the break points he earned even as his opponent committed a string of unforced errors. In an all-Indian men’s doubles final, Saketh Myneni and Ramkumar Ramanathan will take on country-mates Rithvik Bollipalli and Niki Poonacha later in the day.