Sumit Nagal stuns 31st seed Alexander Bublik to make history at Australian Open 2024

Published at :January 16, 2024 at 3:14 PM

Modified at :January 18, 2024 at 2:34 AM

(Courtesy : PTI)

Nagal has reached Australian Open second round for first time.

Indian tennis sensation Sumit Nagal pulled off a stunning upset by defeating 31st seed Alexander Bublik of Kazakhstan in the first round of the Australian Open 2024 on Tuesday. The 26-year-old Nagal, ranked 137th in the world, won in straight sets 6-4, 6-2, 7-6(5) to book his spot in the second round of the season’s first Grand Slam.

Nagal, who qualified for the main draw by winning three matches in the qualifying round, showed his class and confidence against the world number 27 Bublik, who had reached the semifinals of Adelaide International 2024.

#SumitNagal makes history at the #AusOpen! 🎾 He defeats the #31 seed Alexander Bublik in three sets, 6-4, 6-2, 7-6(5), to reach the 2nd round for the first time in his career at #Ausopen. 🙌 This is his 2nd Grand Slam main draw win.🏆#AustralianOpen2024 #Tennis pic.twitter.com/gg83yIwT0C
— Khel Now (@KhelNow) January 16, 2024

Nagal broke Bublik’s serve twice in the first set and once in the second set to take a commanding lead. The third set was a close affair, with both players holding their serves until the 10th game when Nagal had a chance to serve out the match.

However, Bublik fought back and broke Nagal to level the set at 5-5. The set went to a tie-breaker, where Nagal held his nerve and clinched the match with a forehand winner.

This was Nagal’s second career grand slam main draw win and the biggest win of his career. He became the first Indian in 35 years to beat a seeded player at a Grand Slam since Ramesh Krishnan defeated world number one Mats Wilander in the second round of the Australian Open 1989.

Nagal also became the first Indian to reach the second round of the Australian Open since Somdev Devvarman in 2013.

In 2020, he reached the second round of the US Open by beating Bradley Klahn but lost to eventual champion Dominic Thiem.

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Nagal will face China’s Juncheng Shang, ranked 140th in the world, in the second round on Thursday. Shang defeated USA’s Mackenzie Mcdonald in five sets in his first-round match. Nagal will have a good chance to make it to the third round, where he could face second seed Carlos Alcaraz of Spain.

In another match, Yuki Bhambri and his partner from the Netherlands, Robin Haase, squandered three match points and were beaten by Nicolas Barrientos from Colombia and Rafael Matos from Brazil in the first round of men’s doubles at the Australian Open 2024. The pair went down 6-1, 6-7, 6-7.

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