Sumit Nagal, the Indian tennis ace, achieved a significant feat on Friday (January 12) as he secured a place for himself in the main draw of Australian Open 2024. The same gets away on January 14. Nagal achieved the feat by defeating Slovaia’s Alex Molcan 6-4, 6-4 in straight sets in the final qualifier. The 26-year-old has been in sensational form this season and did not even drop a set throughout the qualifiers which makes him the one to watch for, especially for tennis fans in India.
Notably, this will be Nagal’s second appearance in the main draw of Australian Open after 2021 where he out in the first round itself after losing to losing to Lithuania’s Ricardas Berankis (2-6, 5-7, 3-6). It is pertinent to note that the 139th ranked world singles player, Nagal, is not new to playing in the grandest of tennis stages. Apart from his appearances in the main draw of Australian Open, he has also appeared in the US Open on two previous occasions. Perhaps the most impressive thing on Nagal’s resume till now is that he managed to win a set over Roger Federer in the US Open 2019.
Determined ✊@nagalsumit 🇮🇳 will compete in his second #AusOpen main draw after defeating Alex Molcan 6-4 6-4.
He didn’t drop a set in qualifying. One to watch at #AO2024? 👀 pic.twitter.com/8d5I951FWw
— #AusOpen (@AustralianOpen) January 12, 2024
Delighted To Make Main Draw Of Australian Open, Says Nagal
Meanwhile, Nagal himself took to social media to share that he had made it to the main draw of the season’s first grand slam. He wrote: “What a battle out there today 💪🏽 Delighted to make the main draw of the @AustralianOpen 😍”
Determined ✊@nagalsumit 🇮🇳 will compete in his second #AusOpen main draw after defeating Alex Molcan 6-4 6-4.
He didn’t drop a set in qualifying. One to watch at #AO2024? 👀 pic.twitter.com/8d5I951FWw
— #AusOpen (@AustralianOpen) January 12, 2024
Nagal will take on Kazakhstani tennis player Alexander Bublik in the first round of the main draw of Australian Open on January 15 (05:30 am IST).