Jeevan-Rungkat duo tame Leander and Salisbury to win Challenger title

Jeevan Nedunchezhiyan and Christopher Rungkat defeated the pairing of Leander Paes and Joe Salisbury 6-4, 3-6, 10-7 in the doubles final of the $125,000 Challenger tournament in Dallas to claim the title.

Jeevan Nedunchezhiyan and Christopher Rungkat put up a great display to win the title. (File Image)

Jeevan Nedunchezhiyan in partnership with Christopher Rungkat of Indonesia beat top seeds, Leander Paes and his British partner Joe Salisbury 6-4, 3-6, 10-7 in the doubles final of the USD 125,000 Challenger tennis tournament in Dallas, US. The title was worth 100 ATP points and $7,750 and the runners-up collected 60 points and USD 4,500.

It was the first loss in two weeks of Challenger tennis for the 44-year-old Leander, who had won the title last week in partnership with James Cerretani of the US. Incidentally, Jeevan and partner had recovered from the brink of defeat in the first round to beat Cerretani and Croat Ante Pavic 1-6, 7-6 (5), [10-7].

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Leander and Salisbury had won the first two rounds 18-16 and 17-15 in the super tie-breaks.

It was the fifth Challenger title for the 29-year-old Jeevan, who had won the Tour title in Chennai last year. Jeevan in partnership with Bopanna had beaten Paes and Purav Raja in the ATP Tour event in Pune at the start of the season this time.