Purav Raja and Rameez Junaid clinch Istanbul Challenger title
Purav Raja and Rameez Junaid have managed to lift the Istanbul Challenger title with a 7-6(4), 4-6, [10-7] win over second seeds Timur Khabibulin of Kazakhstan and Ukraine’s Vladyslav Manafov on Sunday. The win in Turkey was 32-year old Raja’s first triumph of the 2018-19 season.
Doubles specialist Purav Raja, who has won two ATP titles over the course of his career, added another challenger title to this name along with partner Rameez Junaid. The Indo-Aussie pair beat second seeds Timur Khabibulin of Kazakhstan and Ukraine’s Vladyslav Manafov by a scoreline of 7-6(4), 4-6, [10-7] in a match that lasted 106 minutes to lift the Istanbul Challenger title on Sunday.
Earlier in the tournament, Raja-Junaid registered a 6-2, 4-6, [10-7] victory over third-seeded Mikhail Elgin and
The winning pair received a cash award of $ 4,650 and 90 points. The match recorded as many as 15 double faults, of which eight were committed by Raja-Junaid. Junaid-Raja saved three of seven break points while Khabibulin-Manafov saved six out of nine.