Nathan Barki Challenges Top Tennis Players at ITF M25 Event

Jakarta, Todaysgist.com – Three Gen Z tennis players represented Indonesia in the third week of the Men’s World Tennis Championship. The three qualified for the main round of the ITF M25 tournament with capital wild card.

They are Renaldi Aqila Salim, Claudio Renaldi Lumanauw and Nathan Anthony Barki, who will hunt for their first victory on the Bali National Tennis Center court, Nusa Dua, Tuesday (10/9/2024).

In the two official International Tennis Federation (ITF) championship series, Renaldi Aqila and Claudio Renaldi were unable to progress beyond the qualifying round, while Nathan always lost to the top seeded players in the first phase of the main draw.

In the first round, Renaldi Aqila (18) was determined to get revenge on Hong-Lin Fu from Taiwan. In the second week’s qualifying round, the single from Lamongan (East Java) was defeated after a fierce battle in tie break deciding set, 3-6, 6-3, 7-10.

“I might play faster from the first set. Last series, my game was a bit slack at the beginning. Maybe it was too late to warm up. During the past two weeks, I also adapted to the fast intensity of the ball. I felt the difference between national and international level matches,” said Aqilla, the owner of one ITF Junior trophy on Monday (9/9/2024).

Claudio Renaldi will challenge the veteran Indian tennis player, Sidhart Rawath. The 20-year-old was defeated in the first series of qualifications by his compatriot, Nyoman Suma 2-6, 6-4, and 7-10. While in the second week of the preliminary phase, he lost to the Italian representative, Andrea Bacaloni 0-6 and 4-6.

The two tennis players who once defended the Red and White in the Davis Cup will work together in the doubles event of the ITF M25 championship. In the first round, they will face the second seeds from Great Britain, Jay Clarke and Felix Mischker.

Meanwhile, Nathan (19) must once again struggle against the seed. This time, he will test the skills of the third seed, Bogdan Bobrov. The 2022 SEA Games silver medalist was defeated by Greek tennis player Stefanos Sakellaridis 6-0, 4-6, and 0-6 in the second week and surrendered to the second series champion from Australia, Omar Jasika 3-6, and 0-6 in the first week.

In the doubles, Nathan is partnering with Blake Ellis from the Land of the Kangaroos. The pair is seeded fourth and will face the Taiwanese duo, Hong-Lin Fu and Jeffrey Hsu in the early rounds. Although recorded as their first meeting, Nathan has defeated Jeffrey Hsu, albeit with a different partner in the first week. Nathan and Christo successfully defeated Jeffrey Hsu/Yubing Yu, 6-2 and 6-4.

In addition to the three Gen Z representatives, the host also sent a senior pair to the doubles event of the Amman Mineral Men’s World Tennis Championship. Arif Rahman and Arynkgo Mesakh will face the United States duo, Farhan and Farzan Amiri.