Karen Khachanov vs Sumit Nagal, French Open 2024 Highlights: Nagal suffers first-round defeat against clinical Khachanov

Published at :May 27, 2024 at 11:00 PM

Modified at :June 30, 2024 at 7:30 AM

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Sumit Nagal has had a promising run in the build-up to the French Open 2024, reaching the second round of the 2024 Australian Open. In doing so, he became the first Indian man since Ramesh Krishnan in 1989 to defeat a seeded player at a Grand Slam, with his victim being World No. 27 Alexander Bublik.

Additionally, Nagal achieved a career-high ranking of World No. 80 following his main draw appearance at Monte Carlo. At the Monte-Carlo Masters, he pulled off an upset victory over World No. 38 Matteo Arnaldi as an unseeded player.

Following the Monte Carlo event, Nagal opted to skip the subsequent Masters tournaments in Madrid and Rome. However, his early-season successes have secured him a spot in the main draw at Roland-Garros. When he takes the court on Sunday, Nagal will be the first Indian men’s singles player to compete in the French Open main draw since Prajnesh Gunneswaran in 2019.

The top-ranked Indian faces a tough opening round clash against 18th seed Karen Khachanov. The 26-year-old Indian experienced early exits at both the Bordeaux Challenger and Geneva Open earlier this month. In contrast, Khachanov, a quarter-finalist at the 2023 French Open, clinched the Qatar Open 250 title in February.

Sumit Nagal vs Karen Khachanov – Match Details

Date: May 27th, Monday

Time: 3:45 PM (IST) (Tentative)

Venue: Stade Roland Garros, Paris

Sumit Nagal vs Karen Khachanov – Preview

Nagal put up an impressive performance at the Monte-Carlo Masters, his preceding major tournament, before heading to Paris for the French Open. He triumphed over three top 100 players in the Principality and managed to claim a set against World No. 7 Holger Rune in their second-round clash.

Khachanov, known for his strong serve and baseline game, poses a significant challenge for the Indian aspirant. Nagal’s early exits in Bordeaux and Geneva, both in the first round, will add to the difficulty as he seeks to capitalize on his debut appearance in the French Open main draw.

Head-to-head records

Matches – 0

Sumit Nagal – 0

Karen Khachanov – 0

Sumit Nagal and Karen Khachanov will play for the first time at the French Open.

Prediction

Nagal will be making his debut in the clay court major. The Indian has previous experience at Roland -Garros, having competed in four qualifying rounds between 2018 and 2022.

In the 2024 season, Khachanov holds a 7-3 record on clay courts, whereas Nagal’s clay court record stands at 2-2. The Russian, an 11-year veteran on the ATP Tour, has a 67-48 win-loss record on clay, compared to Nagal’s 4-8. Although both players have yet to secure a clay court tournament win, they aim to make deep runs in the Paris event.

A potential third round encounter with Holger Rune awaits the first-round rivals. This scenario also raises the possibility of a rematch between Nagal and Rune, continuing their recent rivalry from Monte Carlo last month. Should Nagal progress far enough in Paris, a rematch with Alexander Bublik becomes a distinct possibility.

Nagal needs to improve his serve, particularly by reducing the number of double faults. Currently, he has accumulated 68 double faults this season, with only 41 aces. In contrast, Khachanov has tallied a mere 28 double faults against 185 aces

Result: Khachanov to win in three sets.

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