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News18
4 days ago
- Sport
- News18
Nagal progresses to semifinals of Tampere Open
Agency: PTI New Delhi, Jul 25 (PTI) India's Sumit Nagal breezed into the singles semifinal of the Tampere ATP Challenger event in Finland following a straight-sets win over Argentine qualifier Nicolas Kicker on Friday. Nagal, ranked 306, pulled off a 6-4 6-3 win over Kicker, who is ranked 361 in the singles ATP chart. It was third meeting between the two players and Nagal now leads the head-to-head record 2-1. The last time they clashed was in 2022 when Kicker emerged winner in the Guayaquil pre-quarterfinals. The 28-year-old Indian won 67 points to 51 of his rival. Gradually getting back to form, Nagal has now matched his best finish of the season as he had ended a semifinalist at the Trieste Challenger in Italy. Nagal has won six Challenger singles titles from 10 finals. Meanwhile, competing at the Cranbrook Tennis Classic in Bloomfield Hills in the USA, second-seeded Indian pair of Anirudh Chandrasekar and Ramkumar Ramanathan made a quarterfinal exit after losing 6-4 4-6 7-10 to local wildcards Stefan Dostanic and Benjamin Kittay. PTI AT AM AT AM AM Disclaimer: Comments reflect users' views, not News18's. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.
NDTV
5 days ago
- Sport
- NDTV
Sumit Nagal Beats Max Houkes, Enters Tampere Open Quarterfinals
India's top singles player Sumit Nagal quelled a late challenge from Netherlands' Max Houkes to advance to the quarterfinals of the Tampere Challenger event while Arjun Kadhe and Vijay Sundar Prashanth lost the doubles quarterfinals of the Zug Open in Switzerland. Serving for the match, Nagal faced multiple break points in game 10 of the second set but came out unscathed to advance to the next round with a 6-2 6-4 win. He next takes on Argentine Qualifier Nicolas Kicker, who knocked out fifth seed Viktor Durasovic from Norway. Finishing as a semifinalist as a qualifier in Trieste, Italy this month has been Nagal's best performance this season. Nagal has won six Challenger singles titles. Meanwhile, competing at the ATP Challenger event Zug Open, top seeded Indians Kadhe and Prashanth bowed out after losing the quarterfinal 3-6 4-6 to Polish pair of Szymon Kielan and Filip Pieczonka. They had beaten Czech duo of Jirij Barnat and Filip Duda 6-1 6-4 to make the last-eight pairs stage.
News18
5 days ago
- Sport
- News18
Nagal enters Tampere Open quarterfinals
Agency: PTI Last Updated: New Delhi, Jul 24 (PTI) India's top singles player Sumit Nagal quelled a late challenge from Netherlands' Max Houkes to advance to the quarterfinals of the Tampere Challenger event while Arjun Kadhe and Vijay Sundar Prashanth lost the doubles quarterfinals of the Zug Open in Switzerland. Serving for the match, Nagal faced multiple break points in game 10 of the second set but came out unscathed to advance to the next round with a 6-2 6-4 win. He next takes on Argentine Qualifier Nicolas Kicker, who knocked out fifth seed Viktor Durasovic from Norway. Finishing as a semifinalist as a qualifier in Trieste, Italy this month has been Nagal's best performance this season. Nagal has won six Challenger singles titles. Meanwhile, competing at the ATP Challenger event Zug Open, top seeded Indians Kadhe and Prashanth bowed out after losing the quarterfinal 3-6 4-6 to Polish pair of Szymon Kielan and Filip Pieczonka. They had beaten Czech duo of Jirij Barnat and Filip Duda 6-1 6-4 to make the last-eight pairs stage. PTI AT AT AH AH Disclaimer: Comments reflect users' views, not News18's. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.
Edinburgh Reporter
18-07-2025
- Sport
- Edinburgh Reporter
Thirteen match points saved – a record?
Scott Duncan and James MacKinlay head into the annual inter-county tennis championships with the East of Scotland men's team next week on the back of a remarkable never-say-die success to lift the Nottingham Challenger doubles title. The Edinburgh pair fought back from 2-9 (first to 10) adrift against Charles Broom and Mark Whitehouse to win the decider 20-18 with THIRTEEN match points saved. 'I don't know if the number of match points saved was a record but it was certainly the subject of an Italian tennis podcast' recalled Scott, adding: 'It was complete madness.' The final victory was the third of Scott's career in the second tier Challenger ranks and a first for James. Scott added: 'At 2-8in the decjding tie-break I said to James 'imagine if we could pull this one off' not really thinking it could happen. 'But gradually we chipped away until we got right back into the match and it was our turn to feel nervous. 'Eventually I read our opponents serve at 19-18 – by this time I had an idea about where serves were going – and clocked a backhand to force a volleying error. 'It was an unbelievable feeling.' Since returning from four months out with a back injury – his world ranking slipped from 167 to 268 – Scott has made a habit of winning key tie-breaks as he makes up for lost time. 'Tie breaks didn't always go for me last year so maybe things are evening out now' he said while preparing to play a quarter final with James at the ATP Challenger in Pozoblanco, Spain, which unfortunately the Capital pair lost in three sets. As for the LTA's annual summer county cup at Eastbourne next week the East men have finished Division One runners up in each of the past two seasons. Retaining a place in the top tier this year would be a realistic challenge with US based pro's Jake Fearnley and Matt Rankin unavailable as is long serving captain Alan Macdonald fresh from an extensive stretch coaching Jamie Murray on the pro tour. Euan McIntosh takes over the captaincy from Macdonald with the rest of the squad comprising anglo debutant Reece Watters, Lance Nisbet, Jamie Hunter and Sam Macneill. Thistle's Hunter makes a return to county week after several years absence. Among the group one opponents will be North of Scotland prompting suggestions that former world No 1 doubles player Jamie Murray could turn out. 'Jamie faced us when we were in division two or three a few years ago so it could happen' says Scott, relishing that possible challenge. James, left, and Scott are pictured after their Nottingham triumph Like this: Like Related
Yahoo
17-07-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Tennis Hall of Fame rejects billionaire Bill Ackman's $10 million gift after widely criticized tournament entry
The International Tennis Hall of Fame has rejected a $10 million gift from hedge-fund billionaire Bill Ackman after his widely criticized entry in its ATP Challenger event, according to Front Office Sports. The 59-year-old Ackman, a longtime tennis fan, competed in the Hall of Fame Open in Rhode Island last week as a doubles team with former top-10 player Jack Sock, losing to Omar Jasika and Bernard Tomic 6-1, 7-5. The Challenger Tour is the tier below the ATP Tour, but still an actual professional tournament. Ackman received a wild-card entry after a history of philanthropy with the Hall of Fame and played like, well, a 59-year-old tennis enthusiast with no professional experience thrown into a group of professionals. Jasika and Tomic were openly going easy on him, but it didn't prevent him and Sock from losing in straight sets. The decision to add a billionaire to the tournament it hosts led to a wave of criticism toward the Hall of Fame in the tennis community, most notably from former world No. 1 Andy Roddick, the last American man to win a Grand Slam singles title. Speaking on his "Quick Served" podcast, Roddick called the match "a total miss," "pathetic," "hard to watch," and "the biggest joke I've watched in professional tennis." He actually said he didn't blame Ackman for his decision to play, placing the onus on the Hall, and praised the billionaire's effort, but said he believed the decisions behind the match would warrant a review. "There was exactly one person on that court trying as hard as they could," Roddick said. "... If you want to argue with me, go back and watch that video. You can't tell me there was more than one person trying as hard as they could every point, or any point. It was a disaster. "This was beneath the Hall of Fame, in my opinion." You can judge the respective effort levels in the video of the match below: Three days after the match, Ackman posted a lengthy tweet in which he defended the Hall of Fame, criticized his own play and pledged to set up a $10 million endowment he would manage, giving the Hall 10% of the principal each year. He also called the match an overall success, describing it as "one of the greatest public relations achievements in tennis history" for the Hall, partially due to his failure on the court, and challenged Roddick to a doubles match. He said the criticism the Hall received was "entirely" on him, but also tried to explain why he played so badly. "What has not been disclosed is that I played a doubles tournament 10 days prior at the HOF, and I played great. The field was comprised of former pros and top college players from around the world, but 55 plus in age. Richey Reneberg and I lost in the semis to the ultimate winners of the tournament in the tie breaker ... Where things went wrong is that I hadn't been beta tested in a professional tournament and my nerves got to me. "Jack also chose the ad side and I have been playing the ad side for the last year. I was also serving into the 1:30pm sun with a shot clock (a new experience for me), and to make matters worse the other side held back making the whole thing look like a farce." Everyone has a different definition of success, but it appears the Hall has been less happy than Ackman about how this has played out. While it declined comment to FOS, it reportedly said in a letter to its members and board that it would reject the donation to avoid "any perception of impropriety." It added, 'In hindsight, we would not make this decision again,' referring to Ackman's entry.
