Sumit Nagal – overcomes World No. 27 to make her first-ever second-round appearance
With his victory, Nagal became the first Indian to defeat a seeded player in a Grand Slam for thirty-five years.
Sumit Nagal, For the first time in his career, Indian tennis prodigy Sumit Nagal defeated Kazakhstan’s Alexander Bublik, ranked number 27, in straight sets on Tuesday to go to the Australian Open second round.
After advancing to the main draw via the qualifying rounds, 26-year-old Nagal defeated 31st seed Bublik 6-4 6-2 7-6(7-5) in a demanding contest that lasted two hours and 38 minutes.
With his victory on Tuesday, Nagal became the first Indian to defeat a seeded player in a Grand Slam event in thirty-five years.
The last time it occurred was in 1989, when Ramesh Krishnan defeated Mats Wilander, the reigning Australian Open champion and the world’s top player at the time.
Nagal’s first-ever advancement to the second round of the season’s first Grand Slam was also secured with the victory. He has fallen against Lithuania’s Ricardas Berankis 2-6, 5-7, 3-6 in the first round in 2021.
For the second time in his career, the world number 137 Indian will compete in a Grand Slam second round.
In the second round of the 2020 US Open, Nagal fell to Dominic Thiem, the eventual champion, 6-3, 6-3, 6-2.
Nagal had a great start to the match when he broke Bublik in the opening game, but he also lost the next game when he couldn’t hold onto his own serve, leaving the score at 1-1.
After that, the Indian broke his opponent’s serve again to win the first set 6-4 in forty-two minutes.
In the second set, Nagal performed even better, holding his own the entire time and breaking his opponent’s serve twice to win 6-2 in 43 minutes.
Both players maintained their serve throughout the third set until Nagal broke his opponent in the seventh game to grab a 4-3 lead. After that, he accelerated to 5-3.
At 5-4, the Indian attempted to serve for the match but was unable to maintain it. Nagal finally prevailed 7-5 in the tiebreaker after the third set went to overtime.
After defeating Alex Molcan of Slovakia 6-4, 6-4, in the tournament’s qualifying round on Friday, sumit advanced to the main event.
Nagal faced the renowned Roger Federer at the 2019 US Open to make his Slam debut. Despite winning a set against the formidable Swiss player, he ultimately fell short 6-4, 1-6, 2-6, 4-6.
Nagal defeated American Bradley Klahn 6-1, 6-3, 3-6, 6-1 in the opening round of the 2020 US Open to become the first Indian to win a Grand Slam singles match since Somdev Devvarman (2013).
by HHM.