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India's Niki Poonacha finished as the runners-up in the men's doubles of the ATP Cordenons/Internazionali di Tennis del Friuli Venezia Giulia tournament on Saturday, August 12.
Niki Poonacha, partnering with Australia's Adam Taylor, had a dream run at Cordenons. The unseeded pair went down to Italy's pair of Francesco Forti-Giovanni Fonio in three tight sets.
The Indo-Australian pair won the first set 7-5. However, the Italy pair bounced back to win the second set 6-1. In the tight final set, Forti-Fonio edged past the Indo-Australian pair by 10-7.
Earlier, Poonacha-Taylor came back after losing the first set to win the match by 11-9 against the Argentina pair of Casanova-Burruchaga in the Round of 16.
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In the quarterfinal, the pair defeated Spain duo Lopez San Martin-Sanchez Jover in straight sets, 6-3 and 6-4, to reach the semi-final. On Friday, Poonacha-Taylor emerged victorious against the top-seeded pair Sanchez-Arribage in straight sets, 6-4 and 6-4, to make it to the final.
Notably, this is Niki Poonacha's second doubles final in two months. In July, the 28-year-old won the Astana Challenger along with Prajwal Dev. They defeated the Japanese pair Matsui-Uesugi in straight sets, 6-3 and 7-6, to lift the trophy.
Niki Poonacha will be seen in action on Sunday in the Poland Grodzisk Mazowiecki ATP challenger/ Lotto Kozerki Open. The Indian star will take on Saba Purtseladze in the Qualifiers.
Arjun-Rithvik loses in the Round of 16 in the men's doubles of the ATP Cordenons
Indian pair of Arjun Kadhe and Rithvik Choudary lost in a thrilling encounter in the Round of 16. They faced Federico Gomez-Marcus Willis on Wednesday.
In a tight three-setter, the Indian pair had a strong start as they won the first set 6-3. The duo had a tough second set, which went Gomez-Willis' way. In the decider, the Indian pair managed only 5 points, while Gomez-Willis dominated. The Indian duo, who were the second-seeded pair in the tournament, went down by 6-3, 4-6, 5-10.
