On Tuesday, January 16, Sumit Nagal successfully advanced to the second round of the men’s singles in the Australian Open 2024. However, three years ago, Nagal faced disappointment as he failed to progress to the second round at Melbourne Park, losing in straight sets to Ricardas Berankis from Lithuania.
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However, this time Nagal displayed great resilience as he emerged victorious against Alexander Bublik with a score of 6-4, 6-2, 7-6 (7-5), securing his place in the second round of the hard-court tournament for the first time in his career.
This marks Nagal’s second successful qualification beyond the initial round of a Grand Slam. In the 2020 US Open, he triumphed over Bradley Klahn with a score of 6-1, 6-3, 3-6, 6-1, before eventually being defeated by Dominic Thiem in the second round. Notably, Nagal also became the first Indian player in 35 years to defeat a seeded opponent in a Grand Slam men’s singles match since Ramesh Krishnan’s victory over Mats Wilander at the 1989 Australian Open.
Prior to this achievement, Nagal had to navigate through the qualifiers, winning three matches, as the All India Tennis Association (AITA) denied him a wildcard entry. In the upcoming round, Nagal will face the winner of the match between Chinese wildcard Juncheng Shang and Mackenzie McDonald, who caused an upset by defeating Rafael Nadal in last year’s Australian Open.
The 26-year-old displayed his exceptional skills against Bublik, who holds the 27th position in the world rankings, a significant 110 places above Nagal (No.137). Initially, Nagal took a break lead, but Bublik managed to level the score at 1-1. However, Nadal swiftly surged ahead with a 4-1 advantage, securing two more breaks in the set. Bublik felt the pressure as Nagal closed out the set.
Moving into the second set, Nagal quickly gained a break advantage, taking a 1-0 lead and maintaining his dominance throughout. In the third set, he once again seized control by breaking Bublik’s serve early on.
With the score at 5-4 in the final set, Nagal had the opportunity to serve out the set and claim victory. However, Bublik responded with a break of serve, prolonging the match and forcing it into a tie-breaker.
During the tie-breaker, Nagal found himself with three match points at 6-3. Although Bublik managed to save two of them, Nagal ultimately emerged triumphant after Bublik committed a double fault.
Bublik’s downfall can be attributed to his 9 double faults and 44 unforced errors. Despite hitting 41 winners, 12 more than Nagal, and delivering 13 aces, Bublik’s efforts were insufficient to overcome his opponent.