CHENNAI: Sixth seed Frederico Ferreira Silva, of Portugal, won the Chennai Open ATP Challenger Men’s International Tennis Championship after a nail-biting three-set victory over second seed Federico Agustin Gomez, of Argentina, in the singles final on Sunday.
After the players exchanged early breaks in the opening set, the left-handed Ferreira Silva struck the decisive blow in the ninth game and then held serve to clinch the set 6-4. The second set followed a similar pattern, with both players trading breaks early. From 2-2 onwards, however, there were no further breaks of serve, taking the set into a tie-break.
Agustin Gomez, a four-time ATP Challenger Tour champion and ranked No. 196 in the world, saved four match points in the tiebreak before edging it 12-10 to level the contest.
Ferreira Silva, ranked No. 255, responded strongly in the deciding set and raced to a 5-2 lead. Agustin Gomez mounted another comeback, saving a fifth match point and pulling back on serve at 5-4. However, the Argentine who served 13 aces in the final was unable to deny Ferreira Silva, who sealed a 6-4, 6-7(10), 6-4 win on his seventh match point in two hours and 58 minutes.
The title marked Ferreira Silva’s first ATP Challenger singles crown.