Federico Cina clinches Maha Open ATP Challenger 75 C'ship

Pune, Mar 1 (PTI) Sixth seed Federico Cina saved five match points to edge past Britain's Felix Gill to win the Maha Open ATP Challenger 75 Men’s Tennis Championship here on Sunday.

In a thrilling contest lasting two hours and 29 minutes, Cina held his nerve in the decisive tie-break to prevail 6-3, 5-7, 7-6(1).

The Italian looked in control after taking the opening set 6-3 with aggressive baseline play and solid serving. However, Gill fought back strongly in the second set, breaking at a crucial stage to level the match at one set apiece.

The third set witnessed high-quality rallies and intense baseline exchanges, with neither player willing to concede ground.

Cina was down five times on his serve at 5-6 with his back to the wall and facing match points , but he valiantly fought his way back every time to disappoint Gill in front of a capacity crowd backing him.

He held on to force a third set tie-break in which the 18-year-old Cina, a native of Palermo, raised his level remarkably, dominating the breaker 7-1 to seal the championship in commanding fashion.

The singles champion was awarded a trophy, USD 17,000 and 75 ATP ranking points, while the runner-up received a trophy, USD 9,600 and 40 ATP ranking points. PTI ATK PDS PDS