Sumit Nagal knocked out of ATP Marrakech Open after last 16 defeat to Italy's Lorenzo Sonego

Earlier, Lorenzo Sonego also defeated Sumit Nagal in the Dubai Tennis Championships.

Sumit Nagal bowed out of the ATP Marrakech Open after a round-of-16 defeat against Lorenzo Sonego in Morocco on Wednesday.

Nagal, who made history by becoming the first Indian men’s singles player to defeat a seeded opponent since Ramesh Krishnan in 1989 at the Australian Open, started the match strong, winning the first set 6-1 and impressing with his performance on the clay court.

There was optimism for an upset against the higher-ranked opponent, Sonego. However, Sonego, Italian ranked 61st in the world currently, showed great resilience, and managed to turn the match around in the following sets, winning them with scores of 6-3 and 6-4. Sonego’s comeback not only secured him the victory but also a spot in the quarterfinals.

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For Nagal, this match was a chance to make it to the quarterfinals of a Tour-level event for the second time in his career. Unfortunately, Sonego’s consistent performance dashed those hopes, marking Nagal’s second defeat to the Italian following their earlier clash at the Dubai Championships this year.

While Nagal’s journey in singles came to an end, there was a glimmer of hope for India in the doubles category. Yuki Bhambri, alongside his French partner Albano Olivetti defeated the Dutch-Greek pair of Bart Stevens and Petros Tsitsipas 6-3, 6-4.

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