Portuguese duo Nuno Burgess and Francesco Cabral have won the ATP Tennis Challenger Doubles title.
They defeated Austria’s Maximilian Newcherst and Greek Mikel Pervolarakis 7-5, 6-7, 10-8 in the final at the Public Security Officers Club courts in Gudaibiya last night.
Meanwhile, Evgeny Karlovskiy and Ramkumar Ramanathan have stormed into the Singles final.
On the penultimate day of the tournament, organised by the Interior Ministry’s Public Security Sports Association, Karlovskiy overcame a shaky start to edge his Turkish opponent Yanki Erel 2-1 in an exciting come-from-behind semi-final match which lasted more than three hours yesterday.
The unseeded Russian was falling behind to the 21-year-old Turkish early in the game and lost the first set 3-6, before coming back strongly in the second which he won 7-6’6’.
The third set was a neck and neck affair but eventually Karlovskiy proved the stronger player to clinch the set 6-3 and with it the match.
“It was a very tough game for me,” said an exhausted Karlovskiy after his victory.
“In the beginning I couldn’t find my game and was struggling a lot, I kept fighting hard but couldn’t find the right shots.
“Erel played so well, very good tennis by him and was a very tough player to beat today. He was one point away from winning the match, when I found my rhythm in the game and took the second set, then the third to win the match,” added the Moscow-resident.
“I hope that this win would give me more confidence for tomorrow’s final and in the upcoming tournaments. But for now I need to recover well and prepare for my final and show my best tennis from the first point,” Karlovskiy added.
The 27-year-old Russian will now play in the final, scheduled for today, against sixth seed Indian Ramkumar Ramanathan who defeated the tournament’s seventh seed Briton Jay Clarke 2-1 in another thrilling semi-final encounter.
Ramanathan, aged 27, was also falling behind in the game, going down in the first set 5-7, before staging a superb comeback to win the next two sets 6-3, 6-2 and with it the match.
“It was a very close match, I think Clarke started off very well and made me play a lot of balls but I just kept serving well and fighting back,” said the victorious Ramanathan.
“The crowd was also good supporting me during the match, it was a lively atmosphere to play in so I am so happy to have won this crucial match. Now I just have to keep going and hope that I can continue doing my best.”
Today’s final will be followed by the prize-distribution ceremony, putting the curtain down on the 10-day international tournament, being held in the kingdom for the second time.
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