Stuttgart [Germany], June 9 : Indian tennis sensation Sumit Nagal on Sunday clinched the Heilbronner Neckarcup ATP Challenger crown with a victory over Switzerland's Alexander Ritschard in three hard-fought sets 6-1, 7-6(7-5), 6-3.
After winning the Chennai Open on home soil earlier in the year, this was Nagal's second ATP Challenger victory of the year.
Since 2023, the 26-year-old Nagal, who is presently ranked 1 in India, has won four ATP Challenger titles; this victory in Heilbronn marked his fourth clay-court championship.
Nagal was the one who got things going well in the final. Early in the opening set, he took a 4-0 lead and put his opponent under a lot of pressure. Ritschard was unable to keep up, and the Indian tennis player easily won the opening set.
Nagal, the third seed, dominated the first few games of the second set and took a 3-1 lead. Nevertheless, Ritschard managed to rally and tie the score at four this time. At 6-6, the two players were unstoppable, but Ritschard won a hard-fought tiebreaker to equalize the scores.
Both players battled it out to take the lead early in the final set. Ritschard survived seven break points to preserve his service game in the fourth game, which turned out to be an intriguing match.
But Nagal broke his opponent to go ahead 4-2. Nagal eventually won the match, despite his Swiss opponent rallying for a 4-3 lead and saving three match points in the decisive game.
The Indian tennis player participated in the recent French Open, losing in the opening round.
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