On Tuesday (Jan 16), India’s Sumit Nagal went past Kazakhstan’s Alexander Bublik in straight sets, 6-4, 6-2, 7-6 (7-5), to storm into the second round of the Australian Open 2024 edition. Courtesy of this result, Nagal has entered the second round of the mega event Down Under for the first time. In 2021, he made his maiden appearance at the main draw of the Aus Open but lost the opening game in straight sets. In addition, he became the first Indian to beat a seeded player at a Grand Slam since 1989.
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!Talking about the clash, Nagal was ahead from the word go. He got the lead and won the opening set without dropping much sweat. After a 6-4 scoreline in the opening set, the 26-year-old dominated the second set and closed it in a jiffy, with a 6-2 scoreline. Bublik, who has been ranked as high as world number 25 in the men’s singles, dominated with aces — 13-1 overall — but committed a lot of errors (nine double faults overall as opposed to none from Nagal). He, however, challenged his opponent in the third set with the game on the line. Being 3-5 down, Bublik came back and got the lead at 6-5.
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At 6-6, the match was interestingly poised. Nagal needed some more effort to seal a win whereas the 31st seed Bublik was adamant about stretching the game. In the tiebreaker of the third set, the Indian went past the 27th-ranked Bublik with a 7-5 margin to close the set and match eventually. It is a significant win for the 139th-ranked Nagal as Bublik has defeated the likes of Andy Murray, Alexander Zverev, Jannik Sinner and David Goffin since 2022.
NOT JUST A WIN BUT A SIGNIFICANT ONE!
– Nagal became the first Indian (male or female) to defeat a seeded player at a Grand Slam since 1989
– Nagal’s second Grand Slam main draw victory (after US Open 2020)
– His second-best career win by ranking
Following a confident run in the qualifiers, Nagal has started the main draw of the Aus Open with a bang. He will now look to keep going ahead with the same momentum.
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