Paris: Top Indian singles player Sumit Nagal had to bow out of the French Open after losing in the first round of the main round. Sumit Nagal was defeated by 18th seed Karen Khachanov.
26-year-old Sumit was playing in the main draw of the French Open for the first time and he faced a top-20 player. After losing the first two games easily, he battled back in the third game to take it to a tie break. But clay courts are not Nagal’s favorite venue and he lost 6-2, 6-0, 7-6(5) in a battle that lasted two hours and 27 minutes. This match was interrupted by rain for some time.
Nagal committed four double faults against Khachanov’s two. He was able to keep only 55 percent of his chances on the court on the second serve compared to Khachanov’s 68 percent. Nagal is ranked 95th in the world rankings compared to Khachanov’s 19th position.
Nagal has a win/loss record of 3-6 this season. He faced nine break points in the match and was able to convert only one while Khachanov converted six out of 13 break points.
Nagal held his serve early in the first set but 28-year-old Russian player Khachanov whitewashed Nagal 6-0 in the second set, winning nine consecutive games.
Nagal broke Khachanov’s serve in the 10th game of the third set, won three consecutive games and leveled the score at 5-5. Both players then held their serves and the set went into a tie break. The Russian player won the tiebreak 7-5, ending the match in almost two and a half hours.
Having had his campaign ended in the first round at the French Open, Nagal will look forward to making his Wimbledon debut in a few weeks.
