$54K Da Nang Challenger, Vietnam- Jan 7-13, 2019

[meyyis]

Leander/Miguel are the top seeds in doubles, and play Balaji/Arjun in R1

Top seeds Leander/Miguel defeat Balaji/Arjun in straight sets - 6-3, 7-5.

[PKBasu]

Rough day at the office for Balaji.
He and Arjun go away with US$700 (for singles + doubles) and 3 ATP singles points.

[jaydeep]

Next, Sumit is facing an experienced Tsung-Hua Yang.

[R3] (11) Sumit Nagal (IND,340) vs (5) Tsung-Hua Yang (TPE,294)

[PKBasu]

Sumit's match is at noon tomorrow on Court 1. Winnable match against the 27-year-old former junior FO singles champ who has never made it as a singles pro (career-high: 164). If Sumit is on song, he should win.

Immediately after, on the same court, Mukund takes on Yevyesev.

[sameerph]

Rough day at the office for Balaji.
He and Arjun go away with US$700 (for singles + doubles) and 3 ATP singles points.

The flight tickets from India to Vietman appear to be around US$500. So, they will be probably just break even for the trip.

Sumit and Mukund have close to US$900 now and hope they make more.

[arjun2761]

The philosophy in most elite entertainment professions isn't to have a large number of journeymen earning a living. It's to have stars who generate the box office who make most of the money. Ideally, they would want the challenger level to be like the minor leagues in baseball which is mostly designed for the upcoming players to gain experience and try to become a star and otherwise fade out if they aren't able to make it. It is also used for the vets to rehabilitate themselves but it's difficult to make a living as a career minor leaguer.

The biggest issue is that the younger players should be able to sustain themselves while they get good. Perhaps, these travel grants will be directed to the younger, rising players. Ideally, the national tennis federations should also assist the younger players sustain themselves as do in many other sports such as badminton.

[meyyis]

Sumit faded away in the last 2 sets after easily winning the first set 6-2.
Sasi Mukund was also defeated in straight sets by a lower ranked Yevseyev.

[R3] (11) Sumit Nagal (IND,340) l. (5) Tsung-Hua Yang (TPE,294) : 6-2, 1-6, 0-6
[R3] (3) Sasi Kumar Mukund (IND,293) l. (16) Denis Yevseyev (KAZ,348) : 4-6, 2-6

[sameerph]

Disappointing to see both losing out. Sumit's game seems to have declined since a couple of years back when he won a big challenger in Bangalore. Not sure what is the reason. Perhaps the injury which he has last year.

[PKBasu]

Frustrating losses.

[jaydeep]

Yes, poor losses ... Now only Lee is remaining in the doubles with Miguel and they r facing French-Japanese combination.

[QF] (1) Leander Paes (IND)/ Miguel Angel Reyes-Varela (MEX) vs Antoine Escoffier (FRA)/ Yusuke Takahashi (JPN)

[PKBasu]

Their QF is the last match on Centre Court at 6pm. Leander still has star power in Asia.

[PKBasu]

Leander/Miguel swept through their QF 63 61 in 53 minutes on Centre Court.

Semifinal against 4th seeded Khabibulin/Yang.

[meyyis]

Leander and Miguel win in style in straight sets 3 & 1.

[QF] (1) Leander Paes (IND)/ Miguel Angel Reyes-Varela (MEX) d. Antoine Escoffier (FRA)/ Yusuke Takahashi (JPN) : 6-3, 6-1

[SF] (1) Leander Paes (IND)/ Miguel Angel Reyes-Varela (MEX) vs. (4) Timur Khabibulin (KAZ) / Tsung Hua Yang (TPE)

[meyyis]

[SF] (1) Leander Paes (IND)/ Miguel Angel Reyes-Varela (MEX) d. (4) Timur Khabibulin (KAZ) / Tsung Hua Yang (TPE) : 6-7, 6-3, 10-4

[F] (1) Leander Paes (IND)/ Miguel Angel Reyes-Varela (MEX) vs (2) Christopher Rungkat (INA) / Cheng Peng Hsieh (TPE)

[PKBasu]

1 set all in the Doubles final between the top two seeds.