N Sriram Balaji and Rithvik Bolipalli win ATP Rovereto title in Italy

N Sriram Balaji and Rithvik Choudary Bolipalli won the ATP Challenger title in Rovereto, Italy. On Saturday, November 23, the Indian pair defeated Francisco Cabral and Theo Arribage 6-3, 2-6, 12-10. It took the Indians an hour and 20 minutes to win the match on Centre Court.

Balaji and Bolipalli had it easy in the opening set where they converted one of their three break point chances to come up trumps. But Cabral and Arribage stormed back, winning the second set and forcing a decider.

Bolipalli and Arribage dropped their serve twice and failed to convert two chances to break their opponent’s serve. With the title on the line, the third and final set was expected to be a nail-biting affair and it turned out to be an absolute thriller.

After conceding an early lead, Balaji and Bolipalli could only draw level at 9-9. But they took the lead, they did not look back. At 10-10, they bagged two points in a row to have the last laugh.

Balaji and Bolipalli were tentative with their second serves, making four double faults, but made up for them with a winning percentage of 82 from their first serves.

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How did N Sriram Balaji, Rithvik Bolipalli perform in the ATP Rovereto?

Balaji and Bolipalli did not lose a single set until the final. They began their campaign with a 6-4, 6-3 win over Daniel Masur and Alexey Vatutin. In the second round, they defeated the Italian pair of Filippo Romano and Stefano Travaglia 6-3, 6-2.

Bolipalli and Balaji got a walkover in the semifinals after Jelle Sels and Oleg Prihodko withdrew from the tournament. In the final, the Indian duo had to put in the hard yards after being put under pressure. But they held their nerves to go past the finishing hurdle.