It was a busy week around the globe for our boys and girls, as they continued their quest for ATP and WTA points to move up the rankings ladder. While some of them were plying their trade on the clay courts in Europe, others chose the traditional grass-courts in the UK.
Summary –
Sumit notches up first top 100 win in his SF run at Bratislava Challenger –
21 year old Sumit Nagal has taken to clay like no other Indian player has in the past. In a span of 45 days, the Jhajjar lad has amassed 4 SF finishes across continents, starting from the US, to Asia, to Europe.
He had, arguably, the best week of his career in Bratislava, Slovakia last week, where he upset 56th ranked and top seed, Martin Klizan, on his home turf. To give an idea on the stature of the win, Klizan had beaten the likes of Novak Djokovic and Dominic Thiem in the 2018 clay season.
On the back of his SF run, Sumit rises to 224 in the latest ATP Rankings, and is seeded 8th in Milan, Italy this week, where he will look to surpass his career high ranking of 213. He has also sealed his spot in the US Open Qualifying.
Results –
ATP โฌ 69K+H Bratislava Challenger 2019, Slovakia
[R1] (16) Sumit Nagal (IND,272) bye
[R2] (16) Sumit Nagal (IND,251) d. Gerard Granollers (ESP,445) 63 61
[R3] (16) Sumit Nagal (IND,251) d. (1) Martin Klizan (SVK,56) 16 61 76(3)
[QF] (16) Sumit Nagal (IND,251) d. (5) Andrej Martin (SLO,126) 64 62
[SF] (16) Sumit Nagal (IND,251) l. (8) Norbert Gombos (SVK,202) 16 64 26
Leander continues to defy age and odds –
Leander Paes and his Kiwi partner Marcus Daniell finished runners-up on the grass courts at the Ilkley Challenger in the UK.
Results –
ATP โฌ137K+H Ilkley Challenger 2019, Great Britain
[R1] (2) Marcus Daniell (NZL)/ Leander Paes (IND) d. (WC) Jan Choinski (GBR)/ Evan Hoyt (GBR) 62 36 10-7
[QF] (2) Marcus Daniell (NZL)/ Leander Paes (IND) d. Matt Reid/John Patrick Smith (AUS/AUS) 67(4) 76(3) 10-7
[SF] (2) Marcus Daniell (NZL)/ Leander Paes (IND) d. (4) Jeevan Nedunchezhiyan (IND)/ Purav Raja (IND) 63 76(4)
[F] (2) Marcus Daniell (NZL)/ Leander Paes (IND) l. (1) Santiago Gonzalez (MEX)/ Aisam-Ul-Haq Qureshi (PAK), 36 46
Rutuja with QF finish at ITF $25K(+H) Portugal in doubles ; retired with an injury –
Rutuja Bhosale was seeded 2nd in the doubles competition in Portugal but had to give a walkover in the QF as she was struggling with an injury. Rutuja lost to the 6th seed Mai Hontama from Japan in the 2nd round in singles.
Prajwal/Rishi lift doubles title in Zimbabwe –
SD Prajwal Dev and Rishi Reddy beat the 1st, 3rd and 4th seeds along the way to life the doubles title at ITF Zimbabwe Futures.
Prajwal also made the SF in the singles in an impressive week for the young lad.
