Sumit Nagal may have lost his second-round match at the Monte Carlo Masters, but in the eyes of Indian fans, it counts as nothing less than a win. Playing against last year’s finalist and seventh seed Holger Rune, the 26-year-old managed to claim the second set, breaking the Dane twice.
Sumit Nagal shows an incredible fight
In a match that was played over two days, Nagal lost the first set 6-3. The match, which was played on Court Rainier III, was halted on April 10 due to rain midway through the second set. The interruption helped the Indian, who looked out of sorts against the seventh seed ever since he had gotten broken in the first set.
Returning the next day (April 11), not only didn’t Sumit Nagal stay in the match, but he gave Rune a major scare. The Dane quickly went down a set, losing his serve twice. However, similar to the first set, Rune stood up when it mattered the most. Although the Indian ace broke the seventh seed once, he was broken back thrice as he lost, 6-3, 3-6, 6-2.
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Nagal reaches new heights
When Sumit Nagal defeated Matteo Arnaldi in three sets, he became the first Indian to ever win a match at the Monte Carlo Masters. Despite this defeat to Rune, he’ll rise to a career-high rank of 80. In November 2023, Nagal was ranked 138 in the world; now, just five months later, he’s nearly cut that in half.
The Indian tennis ace has also qualified for the French Open 2024, and with the chance to play 3-4 tournaments before the cutoff for the Paris 2024 Olympics ends, he can move even higher up in the ATP Rankings.
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