Bisht to take on Nagal in tennis final

Ronit Singh Bisht and Sumit Nagal, both unseeded, extended their dream run by reaching the final of the Powerpak ITF men's Futures tennis tournament here on Friday.

Bisht, ranked 1023, ousted wild card Prajnesh Gunneswaran 3-6, 6-2, 6-3, and Nagal accounted for sixth seed Ranjit Virali-Murugesan (No.749) 6-3, 6-1 in the semi-finals.

The robust Bisht, after losing the first set, saw off Gunneswaran's challenge with some attacking ground strokes.

In the second set, Bisht settled down and played calmly, forcing Gunneswaran into long rallies. Aided by two service breaks, Bisht wrapped up the set to draw level.

In the third set, Bisht was under pressure to hold serve in the first game, but he held with an ace to get his confidence up. Gunneswaran was then broken in the fourth and sixth games giving Bisht a 4-2 lead and eventually lost.

In contrast, Nagal, only 18, had a very comfortable outing against 30-year-old Virali-Murugesan. Nagal served 12 aces to dominate the match and enjoyed an untroubled run to the final.

In the doubles final, the experienced pair of Jeevan Nedunchezhiyan and Vijay Sundar Prashant downed the younger pair of Mohit Mayur and Kaza Vinayak 6-4, 7-6(5).

The winning pair picked up 18 ATP points and shared $620 while the runners-up received 12 ATP points and $360.