India’s finest singles tennis player currently, Sumit Nagal made it to the main draw of the Australian Open after a gap of three years, after beating Slovakia’s Alex Molcan 6-4, 6-4 in the third qualifying round, on Friday. The 26-year-old made it. after a lot of hardships, after AITA refused to send his nomination for the AO quota.
In the first qualifier, he beat Geoffrey Blancaneaux, followed by a win over local boy Edward Winter, & then Molcan. But after this too, his hardships might not don’t end here. Sumit is now slated to face Kazakhstan’s Alexander Bublik, who has a career-best ranking of 25, and has gone as far as the fourth round in a Grand Slam. Whereas the Indian is yet to win his first match at the Major.
At the 2020 US Open, the Indian secured his only win at a Grand Slam, when he beat American Bradley Klahn, and thereafter lost to Dominic Thiem. And at the 2021 AO, he lost to Ricardas Berankis in the first round. So facing an opponent of such high-caliber could only increase his woes. Moreover, at the ATP, Sumit has won only eight matches and lost 19, which only hint at his inability to be effective at this level, despite all the talent.
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