Sumit Nagal’s positive run at the ATP Chennai Open Challenger came to an end in the semi-finals on Saturday as he went down to American Nicolas Moreno 6-4, 6-2.
Despite the loss, Nagal (ranked 506) is set to jump around 90 spots to be close to the top-400 mark in the updated ATP rankings from a week in which the qualifier beat four higher-ranked players to make his first Challenger semis since October 2021.
Coming off the quarter-final win over Britain’s Jay Clarke in what he felt was his best performance of the week in Chennai, serve was the biggest letdown for Nagal against the 219th-ranked American. In a match that had multiple breaks back and forth in the first set, Nagal won just one point from his second serve, a tellingly low percentage of 11.
Moreno got the early edge in Nagal’s opening service game, but the Indian kept coming back. Nagal even prevented the American from serving out for the set at 5-3, but got broken to love the next game.
The racquet-slamming Nagal improved his first strike in the second set but Moreno continued to serve and play solid (he had 6 aces and won 76% points on first serve).
Nagal will next play the Bengaluru Challenger starting on Monday where he has been handed a main draw wildcard. Former pro Somdev Devvarman, who is coaching the 25-year-old in Chennai, will travel with him.
In the doubles final, India’s Arjun Kadhe and Clarke beat Austria’s Sebastian Ofner and Croatian partner Nino Serdarusic 6-0, 6-4 to lift the title.
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