Harsh Mankad served notice to the Indian Davis Cup team selectors when he won the US $25,000 ITF tournament in Manchester to register his maiden victory in a Challenger event.
Mankad pulled off a brave 7-6 (7/1), 7-6 (7/4) victory over Joshua Goodall of Britain in a nerve-wracking final, on the grasscourt, on Sunday.
The victory earned him 50 points, catapulting him a steep 109 places up to 287th in the latest ATP rankings.
The 26-year-old Mumbai-based player had defeated second seed Antony Dupis of France 2-6, 7-6 (4), 6-3 in the semi-finals, after overcoming the challenges of Australian Luke Bourgeois, Frenchman Jean-Francois Bachelot and Jaroslav Pospisil of the Czech Republic in the previous rounds.
A sulking Mankad had made himself unavailable for national duty after being included only as a reserve player in the Davis Cup rubber against Sweden, in Delhi earlier this year.
In the doubles, Mankad, partnering Philip Stolt of the United States, had lost to Goodall and Ros Hutchins 5-7, 6-3, 9/11 in the semi-finals.