India’s Sumit Nagal stayed on the right track for a back-to-back ATP Challenger crown as he received the higher of Adam Walton in straight units within the quarterfinals of the Bengaluru Open 2024 being performed on the KSLTA Tennis Stadium right here on Friday.
The second-seeded Indian star, who broke into the world top-100 after a title triumph in Chennai final week, was examined by Walton within the opening set however saved his composure beneath stress to register a 7-5, 6-2 win and arrange a semifinal conflict in opposition to seventh seed Stephano Napolitano of Italy. Napolitano defeated Tunisia’s Moez Echargui 6-7(5), 6-4, 6-4 within the different quarterfinal.
Nevertheless, it was heartbreak for one more Indian within the draw, Ramkumar Ramanathan, as he went down in opposition to ninth seed Seongchan Hong of South Korea after a hard-fought three-set encounter.
Ramkumar had fought again from a set right down to power a decider however Hong proved a bit robust for the Indian within the enterprise finish of the third seed and received the match 7-5, 5-7, 6-4. The South Korean will now face Oriol Roca Batalla of Spain for a spot within the last.
Sumit Nagal faces robust battle in opposition to Walton
However Nagal gave the native crowd, which had waited until late within the night to see him in motion, lots to cheer for. The 26-year-old appeared snug at the beginning of the match as he opened up a 4-1 lead earlier than Walton staged a fightback.
Nevertheless, Nagal relied on his groundstrokes to pocket the set 7-5. The second set was lots smoother affair because the Indian broke his opponent twice to wrap the match in 2 hours and 6 minutes.
“It was actually tight first set, however I felt just like the longer I performed the match it went higher. However hats off to Adam for enjoying such a high-level match. Tennis is all about small margins and I felt like I performed these margins very effectively right this moment. I went for my shot and I used to be the one who was dictating the factors,” stated Nagal after the match.
On his semifinal in opposition to Napolitano, Nagal stated, “I’ve performed with him years in the past. However he is enjoying good tennis and I am trying ahead to tomorrow’s match.”