Nagal crashes out of French Open qualifiers, Prajnesh proceeds

India's hopes of representation in the French Open took a massive hit as the country number 1 tennis player bowed out of the French Open qualifiers.

Sumit Nagal, who was the 16th seed was once leading 3-0 but his opponent, Germany's Dustin Brown did not let him continue dictating his terms. The veteran defeat Nagal in 6-7 (4) 5-7 in a match that lasted for one hour and 47 minutes. It came as a shocker for the Indian tennis fanatics to see the country's top-ranked player go out in the qualifiers of French Open.

A few weeks ago, the fans were overjoyed as they celebrated Nagal's US Open first-round win over Bradley Klahn of United States. He became the first Indian male to win a US Open main draw match in seven long years. And here we are today, talking about the same youngster who has crashed out of the French Open qualifiers, it is funny how the tables turn in sports.

However, the country's second highest-ranked player, Prajnesh Gunneswaran fought fiercely and advanced to the second round of the qualifiers after defeating Turkey’s Cem Ilkel 6-3 6-1. it was not a great start from Prajnesh as he was losing his service early in the game but the win will give him confidence for future games.

Another Indian tennis player, Ramkumar Ramanathan who is also featuring in the qualifiers, will be up against local wildcard player Tristan Lamasine later today.

Therefore, there is still hope for the Indian tennis fans but representation in the French Open main draws look very slim especially after Sumit Nagal's early departure from the qualifiers. The onus will be now on the Indian duo of Prajnesh and Ramanathan to find a way and prove to the people that it is not only about Nagal every time.

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