Creating history, Sumit Nagal became the first Indian in 11 years to advance to the second round of the Australian Open in the ongoing event in Melbourne. The Indian No.1 Tennis star delivered a commanding performance, defeating 31st-seeded Alexander Bublik from Kazakhstan in straight sets with scores of 6-4, 6-2, 7-6 (7-5) on January 16 (Tuesday). Somdev Devvarman was the last Indian to achieve this milestone, securing a spot in the second round of the Australian Open in 2013. Sumit Nagal earned his place in the Grand Slam’s main draw through the qualifying tournament.
Notably, Nagal’s victory marked a significant moment as he became the first Indian player to defeat a seeded opponent at any Grand Slam since 1989. The last Indian to achieve this feat was Ramesh Krishnan, who triumphed over the then World No.1 Mats Wilander in the second round of the 1989 Australian Open. This is the second occasion that Nagal advanced beyond the first round of a Grand Slam. In the 2020 US Open, he secured a victory against Bradley Klahn with a score of 6-1, 6-3, 3-6, 6-1 before facing a defeat against Dominic Thiem in the second round. Nagal, who battled through a series of injuries, made a remarkable comeback to elevate his ranking to 122 after spending much of the previous year outside the top 500.
That’s a big win for @nagalsumit 🇮🇳
He takes out No. 31 seed Bublik 6-4 6-2 7-6(5).#AusOpen • #AO2024 pic.twitter.com/ldM9VE4X0M
— #AusOpen (@AustralianOpen) January 16, 2024
A Straight-Set Triumph For Nagal
Nagal displayed exceptional form throughout the match against Bublik, not dropping a set and breaking his opponent’s serve multiple times. Despite a momentary setback when serving for the match at 5-4 in the third set, Nagal recovered to win the set in a tiebreaker. The Indian star secured the victory as Bublik faced challenges and eventually made a crucial double fault. In total, Nagal won 110 points, with 60 on his serve, breaking Bublik six times during the match. His next challenge in the second round will be against the winner of the match between China’s Juncheng Shang and USA’s Mackenzie McDonald.