India’s teenage sensation Manas Dhamne fell short of a title finish in his maiden ATP Challenger singles final, going down to Belgium’s Buvaysar Gadamauri in a closely-fought summit clash in Shymkent, Kazakhstan on Sunday.

The 18-year-old Dhamne put up a spirited fight before losing 6-7(8), 4-6 in a contest that lasted over two hours and hinged on fine margins.

Dhamne showed nerves of steel in the opening set, stretching his more experienced opponent to a tie-break and even holding set points before Gadamauri edged ahead 10-8.

The narrow loss appeared to take some wind out of the Indian’s sails as the Belgian capitalised with a decisive break in the second set to seal the title.

Despite the defeat, it has been a breakthrough week for Dhamne, who is set to break into the top-400 for the first time, most likely achieving a career-high mark of 384 when the new rankings are issued on Monday.