Heilbronn: India’s top ranked singles player Sumit Nagal won the Heilbronner Neckarcup ATP Challenger event beating Alexander Ritschard of Switzerland in three hard-fought sets 6-1, 7-6(7-5), 6-3 here on Sunday.
With this title triumph, he will be entering the top 80 of the ATP Rankings, making him eligible to compete in the Paris Olympics next month. The official announcement is expected on Monday. Third seed Nagal did not have it easy, as unseeded Ritschard did provide stiff competition in second and third sets respectively.
It was a dominant start for the Indian, who earned a couple of breaks to outplay the Swiss in the opening set 6-1.
Despite Nagal earning a break in the second set, Ritschard broke back and took the set to the tie-breaker, where the latter was the evident force, winning 7-6(7-5).