Australian Open: India’s Sumit Nagal makes first spherical exit

Mumbai: At one level within the second set in opposition to Sumit Nagal on Sunday, Tomas Machac was attacking the Indian’s first serves like second serves. A fast leap and a step inside, getting nearer to the baseline, after which ripping a return winner. First, off the forehand. Then off the backhand.
On the quick arduous courts of Melbourne, one high quality participant pouncing on the unthreatening serves of the opposite often indicators a one-sided affair. And for a big a part of Nagal’s first spherical encounter on the Australian Open, it certainly was.
In a match that lasted two hours and 5 minutes on the 1573 Area in Melbourne Park on Sunday, Nagal misplaced 6-3, 6-1, 7-5 in opposition to twenty sixth seed Machac of the Czech Republic. It additionally ended India’s singles problem on the Australian Open.
On the season-opening Grand Slam final yr, Nagal had change into the primary Indian participant to beat a seeded opponent in males’s singles since Ramesh Krishnan in 1989, having gone previous the then world No.27 Alexander Bublik. That victory and present in Australia offered a springboard for the Indian to interrupt into the highest 100 of the ATP rankings for the primary time.
On Sunday, nevertheless, the world No.91 got here up in opposition to a 24-year-old participant who, since final October, has overwhelmed Carlos Alcaraz and Grigor Dimitrov on the tour.
That class from the present world No.25 was on show as Machac cruised to the primary set with out going through a single break level, despite the fact that Nagal began the match pretty strong. He dropped simply two factors in his early service video games, however his serve, which stays a piece in progress, was then damaged twice.
Machac continued in the identical vein within the second set, cashing in on Nagal’s struggles to carry serve. The Czech participant discovered a break within the third recreation and went up 3-1. He broke the Nagal serve once more on the subsequent time of asking, to like this time, firing these deadly return winners earlier than holding his personal to win the set 6-1 in 36 minutes.
The Indian got here again strongly within the third set. He began off by holding serve at 30 earlier than breaking Machac’s serve for the primary time within the match. One other maintain of serve noticed Nagal go up 3-0. Machac did get again the break to go on serve at 3-4, just for Nagal to interrupt instantly after.
From being down two units to like, Nagal had an opportunity to drag one again and take the match into the fourth set. However the Czech was decided to complete the match in straight units, profitable the following 4 video games on the trot to safe his spot within the second spherical.
Machac ultimately registered 38 winners to Nagal’s 19, although the Czech littered extra unforced errors (33 to twenty).
The opening spherical loss means Nagal will drop 40 rankings factors, which might go away him prone to falling out of the highest 100 rankings.