NewKerala.com

Felix Gill Upsets Sumit Nagal in Thrilling Maha Open Quarterfinal Clash

Britain's Felix Gill secured a hard-fought, three-set victory over India's top player Sumit Nagal to advance to the quarterfinals of the Maha Open ATP Challenger 75. The match, lasting over two and a half hours, saw Nagal fight back to win the second set 6-0 before Gill regrouped to take the decider. In other matches, eighth seed Edas Butvilas delivered a dominant performance, while qualifier Masamichi Imamura caused a major upset by defeating the second seed. Indian hopes now rest on wildcard entrant Manas Dhamne in the upcoming quarterfinals.

Key Points: Felix Gill defeats Sumit Nagal at Maha Open ATP Challenger

  • Gill wins 7-6, 0-6, 6-3 in 2h37m
  • Nagal squanders early lead in first set
  • Butvilas cruises past Wu 6-3, 6-0
  • Imamura shocks second seed Clarke
2 min read

Felix Gill knocks out Sumit Nagal at MahaOpen ATP Challenger 75

British player Felix Gill beats India's top star Sumit Nagal in a three-set marathon to reach the Maha Open ATP Challenger 75 quarterfinals.

"Gill held his nerve in a high-intensity battle - Tournament Release"

Pune, February 26

Britain's Felix Gill held his nerve in a high-intensity battle to defeat India's top star Sumit Nagal 7-6, 0-6, 6-3 in a marathon encounter lasting 2 hours and 37 minutes and make it to the quarter finals at the Maha Open ATP Challenger 75 Men's Tennis Championship.

According to a release, the tournament is being organised by Maharashtra State Lawn Tennis Association (MSLTA) in association with the Department of Sports and Youth Services, Govt of Maharashtra, PCMC, PMC, and PMDTA, and sponsored by Pune Metropolitan Regional Development Authority (PMRDA) and played at the Shiv Chhatrapati Kreeda Sankul, Mhalunge Balewadi Tennis Stadium. Nagal took the lead twice in the first set, breaking on two occasions in the first set, but he could not hold his serve, taking the first set to a closely contested tie-breaker, which Gill managed to win. In the second set, the 300-ranked Gill saw Nagal storm back with a dominant second-set bagel.

With the scores at 1 set all, Gill regrouped strongly in the decider, securing the decisive break to close out a hard-fought victory and a revenge win, since Nagal had earlier defeated the Brit in Chennai two weeks ago.

Eighth seed Edas Butvilas of Lithuania delivered a clinical performance to outclass qualifier Tung-Lin Wu of Chinese Taipei 6-3, 6-0 in just 58 minutes. Butvilas controlled the baseline exchanges from the outset and wrapped up the contest in an emphatic fashion without allowing his opponent any rhythm in the second set.

In the biggest upset of the day, Japanese qualifier Masamichi Imamura shocked second seed Jay Clarke of Great Britain 6-2, 6-4 in 1 hour and 19 minutes. Imamura played fearless tennis, capitalising on crucial break-point opportunities to seal a straight-sets victory.

In the quarterfinals to be played on Friday, Indian hopes will rest on local boy and wildcard Manas Dhamne, who will take on Duje Ajdukovic of Croatia at 3 pm.

- ANI

Share this article:

Reader Comments

P
Priya S
Gill got his revenge from Chennai! Full credit to him for regrouping after that bagel. Sumit's serve let him down badly in the first and third sets. Hope he works on that. All eyes on young Manas Dhamne now for QF. Good luck to the local boy! 🎾
A
Arjun K
The organization by MSLTA and the Maharashtra govt for these Challengers is top class. It's great exposure for our players even if results are mixed. We need more such events across India, not just in Pune and Chennai.
S
Sarah B
That scoreline 7-6, 0-6, 6-3 is a rollercoaster! Must have been an incredible match to watch live at Balewadi. The Japanese qualifier beating the 2nd seed is a massive shock too. Tennis is so unpredictable!
V
Vikram M
Respectfully, I think we put too much pressure on Nagal as the "top star". He's ranked around 100, playing a guy ranked 300, and loses at home. The gap between our best and the global top 50 is still huge. We need to develop a stronger bench, not rely on one player.
M
Meera T
ज़िद्दी लड़का है Sumit! He'll bounce back. The fight was there for over 2.5 hours. Now cheering for Manas Dhamne – hope the Pune crowd comes out in full force for the quarterfinal. Chak De India! 💪

We welcome thoughtful discussions from our readers. Please keep comments respectful and on-topic.

Leave a Comment

Minimum 50 characters 0/50