In another action-packed week on the ITF Pro Circuit, teenagers Anna Kalinskaya and Sumit Nagal took home some of the biggest titles of the week, along with Thailand’s Peangtarn Plipuech, Spain’s Georgina Garcia-Perez and Italy’s Martina Trevisan. With the summer beginning to wind down here in North America, let’s take a look at this week’s ITF Roundup...
Nagal Victorious in Poland F6 Futures Final
In the lone $25,000 final on the men’s calendar this past weekend, it was India’s Sumit Nagal, a 19-year-old born about two hours east of the Indian capital, who was victorious. Ranked just outside of the top 400, Nagal entered the main draw in Poznan, Poland, with little confidence, having struggled to win back-to-back main draw matches since February.
However, the Indian defied all expectations, mounting a come-from-behind victory in the first round before winning eight sets in a row en route to the final, before making that nine in a row in Sunday’s showpiece against Germany’s Daniel Masur. After Nagal proved too strong in an up-and-down opening frame, it was the German who struck back in emphatic style to force a one-set shootout to decide the title. But when it really mattered, it was a decisive break late in the decider that proved decisive for the new world number 404, capping off the best week of his career with a 4-6, 6-1, 6-3 victory—his first singles title won outside of his native homeland.
Garcia-Perez, Plipuech Cruise; Kalinskaya, Trevisan Fight to Career-Best Finishes
In contrast to the men’s calendar, there were four $25,000 titles on the line this weekend, with all four finals delivering all sorts of surprises throughout. On one hand, Spain’s Georgina Garcia-Perez and Thailand’s Peangtarn Plipuech cruised to victory, while Russia’s Anna Kalinskaya and Italy’s Martina Trevisan were made to fight their way to career-best finishes on the ITF Pro Circuit.
In the case of Garcia-Perez, the Spaniard overcame a pair of tough earlier in the week, and after capturing the doubles title with Hungary’s Fanni Stollar less than 24 hours prior, the 24-year-old won the biggest title of her career in Bukfurdo with a dominant 6-3, 6-0 victory over the Czech Republic’s Gabriela Pantuckova.
Thailand has not been known to produce many professional tennis players, but Peangtarn Plipuech is currently one of three main players leading the Thai charge on the professional tour. In all four of her matches en route to the final, Plipuech was forced to go the distance, but managed to come out on top time and time again. Interestingly enough, it was the final where she had the least trouble, cruising past Belgium’s Greet Minnen, 6-4, 6-0 to claim the $25,000 title in Tsukuba.
In contrast, Kalinskaya and Trevisan both had to overcome their fair share of roadblocks in their respective finals to secure career-best victories at the professional level.
For Kalinskaya, this victory is the latest highlight of a stellar summer of professional title for the 17-year-old, one that has now seen her win a trio of $25,000 titles. The latest victory came Saturday in the Ukrainian city of Kharkiv where, after cruising through the opening rounds, the Russian teenager was forced to dig deep after dropping the opening set 6-1 in her semifinal to eventually win in three, before edging out her doubles partner for the week, Greece’s Valentini Grammatikopoulou, 6-4, 1-6, 6-1 in the showpiece.
For Trevisan, the Italian wild card had quite the weekend, winning her semifinal in a third-set tiebreak before winning a three-set thriller of a final a day later. Facing off against Poland’s Katarzyna Piter, Trevisan led by a set and a break, and even served for the match, before Piter mounted a late fightback, which ultimately resulted in a run of four games in succession to win the second set. After an up-and-down decider, it was a single break in the final game of the match that proved decisive for the 22-year-old, capping off a stunning week with a dramatic 6-1, 5-7, 7-5 victory.