IMAGE: Sumit Nagal faced a strong challenge in the first set. Photograph: Ciro De Luca/Reuters
India number one Sumit Nagal kept himself in the hunt for a third title this year, while advancing to the final of the Perugia Challenger with a fighting 7-6 (7-2) 1-6 6-2 win over former World No 37 Bernabe Zapata Miralles of Spain, in Perugia, Italy on Saturday.
In the final, Nagal will take on the winner of Luciano Darderi of Italy and Germany’s Daniel Altmaier
The 26-year-old, who is now ranked a career-high 77 in world ranking, faced a strong challenge in the first set but he held his nerves to overcome the Spaniard in the tie-breaker.
Miralles dominated the second set winning it 6-1, also landing 77 percent of his first serve points. But the Indian bounced back strongly in the decider with his return of serves and sealed his maiden win over the Spaniard in three exchanges.
Playing non-stop tennis, Nagal secured his ninth win on the trot since the start of the Heilbronn Challenger in Germany that he had won earlier this month.
Nagal thus remained in the line for a successive Challenger title, giving a push to get into the top-50.
The Indian had won the Chennai Challenger earlier this year that began with a historic second round outing at the Australian Open.
Meanwhile in the doubles final, India’s N Sriram Balaji and his German partner Andre Begemann lost to top-seeded Argentina’s Guido Andreozzi and Miguel Angel Reyes-Varela of Mexico 4-6, 5-7.
