Sumit Nagal Crashes Out of Chennai Open Challenger

India No. 1 Sumit Nagal exited the Chennai Open ATP Challenger after a three-set defeat to Russia’s Petr Bar Biryukov in the second round.

IMAGE: Sumit Nagal won the opening set but failed to convert three break points in the second. Photograph: Denis Balibouse/Reuters

Former champion Sumit Nagal bowed out of the Chennai Open ATP Challenger with a 6-4, 6-7, 3-6 loss to Russian Petr Bar Biryukov in the second round in Chennai on Thursday.

The India No. 1 won the first set against big-serving left-hander Biryukov, ranked No. 305 in the world.

Key Points

Former champion Sumit Nagal lost 6-4, 6-7, 3-6 to Russia’s Petr Bar Biryukov in the second round.
The second set went into a tie-break, which Biryukov clinched to force a decider.
Fourth seed Ilia Simakin defeated Australia’s Philip Sekulic in the longest match of the day.
In doubles, top seeds Poonacha-Isaro advanced to the semi-finals.

Nagal also had three break points in the second set on Biryukov's serve, but failed to convert them.

With no breaks of serve, the set went into a tie-break, which Biryukov won before taking a 3-0 lead in the decider.

Although Nagal fought back to level the final set at 3-3, Biryukov earned another decisive break in the eighth game and held serve to close out the game in two hours and six minutes.

In the longest match of the day, fourth seed Ilia Simakin overcame Australia's Philip Sekulic 4-6, 7-5, 7-6 (1) in just under three hours. Simakin will next face Biryukov for a spot in the semi-finals.

Earlier in the day, Indian qualifier Sidharth Rawat, ranked No. 715 in the world, was defeated by Maks Kasnikowski, ranked No. 419, in straight sets. The Pole advanced to the last eight with a 6-2, 6-3 win.

In the doubles draw, top seeds Niki Kaliyanda Poonacha-Pruchya Isaro advanced to the last four with a 6-4, 6-1 win over wildcard duo Lohithaksha Bathrinath/Abhinav Sanjeev Shanmugam.

They will next face the all-Indian pairing of S.D. Prajwal Dev/Nitin Sinha. The third seeds made it through to the semi-finals with a 4-6, 6-2, 10-8 win over fellow Indians Ishaque Eqbal-Manish Sureshkumar.

Second seeds Siddhant Banthia-Saketh Myneni were knocked out 7-5, 6-4 in the last quarter-final of the day by the Indo-British duo of Sasikumar Mukund/Jay Clarke.