ATP challenger | Gomez takes on Kasnikowski

Federico Agustin Gomez had a smooth run of the draw until he faced his first major test in the semi-final of the Chennai Open ATP Challenger against Maks Kasnikowski before winning in three sets to set up a title clash with Frederico Ferreira Silva.

The second-ranked Argentine, ranked 196 in the world, served consistently and broke once to take the opening set. His Polish opponent fought back excellently and quickly had him in the background. Kasnikowski improved his serve and broke Gomez twice to level the match.

The decider saw the level of play of the two players rise, especially Gomez. The Argentinian served very well and, more importantly, his return did a lot of damage. He broke Kasnikowski’s serve twice and won 6-3, 2-6, 7-5 in just over two hours.

In the second semi-final, Portugal’s Ferreira Silva had no trouble getting past fourth seed Ilia Simakin of Russia 6-4, 6-2.

Ferreira Silva has yet to drop a set here this week and is chasing his first Challenger singles title.

Top-seeded Indo-Thai duo Niki Kaliyanda Poonacha and Pruchya Isaro won the doubles title, beating Jay Clarke and Mukund Sasikumar 6-4, 6-4.

The result: Semi-finals: Federico Agustin Gomez (Arg) v Max Kasnikowski (Pol) 6-3, 2-6, 7-5; Frederico Ferreira Silva (B) with Ilia Simakin (Russia) 6-4, 6-2

Doubles: Final: Pruchya Isaro (Tha) & Niki Kaliyanda Poonacha bt Jay Clarke (GBr) & Mukund Sasikumar 6-4, 6-4.