NAGAL LOSES CHALLENGER FINAL TO DUTCH GRIEKSPOOR

NEWDELHI: Sumit Nagal lost in the final of Srpska Open, an ATP Challenger event in Banja Luka, Bosnia and Herzegovina, on Sunday. The sixth-seeded Indian lost 2-6, 3-6 to Dutch Tallon Griekspoor, the seventh seed.

Throughout the tournament, Nagal was dominant, not dropping a single set. But in the final he was overpowered.

This was the first time Nagal was featuring in a final after the Bengaluru Open in 2017 at the ATP Challenger Tour. Earlier in the tournament, Nagal had beaten higher seeds, including fifth seed Slovak Filip Horansky and fourth seed Federico Coria.

Nagal had beaten Horansky in the semi-finals also in straight sets. Against Horansky, Nagal was made to work in the first set that went into a tie-breaker. However, the 22-year-old won the tiebreaker comfortably and carried the form into the second set, which he won by dropping only two games.

Nagal had shot to limelight last month by taking a set off 20-time Grand Slam champion Roger Federer in the first round of the US Open.

Federer had praised the 22-year old from Jhajjar, Haryana after the first round game. “He knows what he can bring. That’s why I think he’s going to have a very solid career,” said the Swiss maestro.

Nagal had won the Wimbledon boys’ doubles title in 2015 with Vietnamese teammate Lý Hoàng Nam to become the sixth Indian player to win a junior Grand Slam trophy.

He was spotted by India’s Davis Cup captain and former US Open doubles champion Mahesh Bhupathi as he handpicked the then 10-year old Nagal for his “Apollo Mission 2018” program that aimed to produce an Indian Grand Slam singles champion by 2018.