High drama unfolded during the men’s singles final of the Copa Cap Cana tournament that was held at Punta Cana in the Dominican Republic. The match was played between Italy’s Mattia Bellucci and Argentina’s Mariano Navone. While this was the first time that the two had come up against each other, the latter was the favorite to win as he was the sixth seed. However, no one could have expected the way that the first set would pan out.

It all began when the first set was level at 5-5, but Navone had two break points at 15-40. As Bellucci was going for his serve, he heard a phone ringing in the stands and pulled away. Seeing him take ample of time to regroup, the chair umpire handed him his second time violation. The Italian didn’t agree to this, and even though he tried to explain why he pulled out from the serve, the umpire declined to change her decision. This led to him walking off the court and refusing to play.

The play was halted as a result, and the supervisor was called as Bellucci continued his protest. An intense argument between him and the umpire ensued, but the supervisor sided with the latter and asked the 26-year-old to continue the game.

He came back strong after the pause and saved the two break points. But Navone remained calm and clinched the next point before a double-fault from Bellucci handed the Argentine with a crucial break. He now had the chance to serve for the set and take the all-important lead in the final. However, little did he know that there was even more drama in store.

Between the breaks, the supervisor came to chat with the chair umpire again. After a lengthy discussion, they decided to temporarily suspend the match due to the excessively high temperature at the venue. Navone didn’t take kindly to this decision and was seen arguing with both the chair umpire and supervisor.

But the decision was final, and both players had no choice but to walk off the court. While the crowd looked highly disappointed with the call, they didn’t have to wait for long before the action resumed.

After a delay of a little over 30 minutes, the players made their way back to the court as the final resumed with Navone leading 6-5 and serving for the first set. The 25-year-old made no mistake and comfortably held his serve to take a vital lead in the match.

The second set didn’t prove much different, as Bellucci made early mistakes that helped Navone capitalize and shift all the momentum towards himself.

Mariano Navone holds his nerve to clinch the Copa Cap Cana title

The Argentine started the set on a high note and broke Bellucci’s serve on consecutive occasions. This saw him race to a 4-0 lead early, and there seemed to be no way back for his opponent at that stage. However, things seemed to shift again after Bellucci broke Navone’s serve and held onto his own to make it 5-4.

But Navone made sure not to falter on the final hurdle and held onto his serve to win the final 7-5, 6-4. The World No.79 not only captured his ninth Challenger title with the victory but also bagged a remarkable feat. He became the first player in history to win Challenger 175-level titles on both clay and hard courts.

This was Navone’s first title win of the year, so he will definitely be celebrating it to the fullest. He will be seen in action at the Miami Open, which is set to commence from March 16. Having been knocked out early in the Round of 128 last year, he will be looking to make a deeper run into the tournament this time around. Will he make it? We’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments below.