Lexington, August 9, 2026 (Yes Punjab News)
India’s Niki Kaliyanda Poonacha and Ecuador’s Gonzalo Escobar staged a thrilling comeback to defeat American pair Andre Ilagan and Karl Poling and claim the men’s doubles title at the Lexington Open, an ATP Challenger 75 tournament, on Sunday.
The third-seeded Poonacha-Escobar combination prevailed 6-7 (1), 6-3, 11-9 in a final lasting one hour and 42 minutes in Lexington, Kentucky.
The victory marked Poonacha’s 11th ATP Challenger doubles title and his fifth of the 2026 season. It was also the first Challenger title won by Poonacha and Escobar as a partnership.
The 31-year-old Indian had earlier won the Open Sopra Steria de Lyon in June with Thailand’s Pruchya Isaro. His other titles this season include the Bengaluru Open 2 ATP Challenger 50 with Saketh Myneni, and the Menorca ATP Challenger 100 and Chennai ATP Challenger 50 with Isaro.
Poonacha and Escobar made a strong start in the opening set, breaking in the fourth game. However, Ilagan and Poling levelled the set by breaking back in the seventh game. The Americans then dominated the tie-break, winning it 7-1.
The Indian-Ecuadorian duo responded strongly in the second set, securing an early break in the third game and maintaining the advantage. They struck again in the ninth game to force the match into a super tie-break.
The decider remained closely contested, with neither side managing to establish more than a two-point advantage. Poonacha and Escobar were 7-9 down and faced the prospect of defeat before producing a decisive late surge.
They won four consecutive points, saving two match points during the sequence, to complete the comeback and secure the championship.
On their way to the title, Poonacha and Escobar also defeated the tournament’s top-seeded team of Chinese Taipei’s Ray Ho and Belarus’ Ivan Liutarevich.
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