Nagal advances to final after controversial umpire call

CHENNAI: A sizable crowd in Chennai came out on a warm afternoon and cheered India’s top seed, Sumit Nagal, as he advanced to the final (6-3,6-4) of the ATP Chennai Challenger in a match that concluded with controversy.

Young Dalibor Svrcina of Czech Republic, who entered the match after defeating Sasikumar Mukund, likely felt robbed due to an on-field call by the umpire that resulted in Nagal bagging a crucial point towards the end. Despite protesting to deaf ears, the Czech left the court half-hearted, marking a controversial end to an exciting semi-final.

Dalibor began the match strongly, but Nagal resiliently bounced back after each lost point, displaying an unfazed demeanor with powerful backhand rallies that pushed the Czech to the edge.

Facing struggles with unforced errors, Dalibor conceded the first set 6-3 after an hour of play.

The second set commenced as another back-and-forth contest, reaching a score of 1-1. Somdev Devvarman, on the sidelines for Nagal, consistently reminded him to stay patient and remain calm.

Dalibor, losing composure in his rallies, faced a strong serve from Nagal, drawing cheers from the crowd as Nagal led 4-1 in the second set. Just when Nagal seemed to dominate, Dalibor picked up the pace, narrowing the scores to 3-5.

Nagal took a brief medical timeout, appearing to struggle with his right arm. Physios rushed in to assess him, and after the timeout, he returned to the court.

“It’s been there for years; here the conditions are very tough after the balls are used, sometimes when the balls are big and the shoulder gets tight. There are some bad days, but if there’s nothing serious to it,” said Nagal, discussing the medical timeout after the match.

With Nagal having a strained arm, Dalibor had a chance to crawl back into the game and that’s exactly what he did pulling the game back to 4-5 In the next rally, Nagal needed just a point to win the match and qualify for the final. One of his returns bounced near the line, leading to a protest from Dalibor that it was outside. However, the umpire signalled it as ‘inside,’ and soon Nagal won the match point and secured his spot in the final.

“It was tough. Sometimes you get calls in your favour, and sometimes you don’t. If you don’t have hawk-eyes, it’s difficult. Everybody makes mistakes. It’s normal in tennis; sometimes the calls are against you and sometimes they favour you,” said Nagal while questioned about the umpire’s call towards the end that favoured the Indian.

The absence of hawk-eye system proved costly for the young Czech, who now heads to the Bengaluru Open carrying the weight of hard luck.