It was not to be for Sumit Nagal. The 26-year-old Indian singles ace could not surmount the opening hurdle in his maiden appearance at French Open. Nagal lost in straight sets 2-6, 0-6, 6-7 (5-7) to world number 18 Karen Khachanov in a first-round match on Monday (May 27, 2024) that was interrupted by rain. (Full Coverage | Tennis News)
It was always going to be an uphill battle for Nagal against the fancied Khachanov, and the match panned out exactly like that. The Russian did not cede an inch to the man from Jhajjar, Haryana who many believe has a game best suited for clay.
Nagal did show some fight in the third set, clawing back from 3-5 down to break Khachanov's serve and force a tie breaker. But it was not enough, as the 18th-ranked campaigner prevailed with a tight 7-5 margin to shut out the Indian.
The match stats made the gulf apparent. Khachanov served out eight aces to Nagal's none, and won 76 per cent of his first-serve points against the Indian's 59%. On top of that, Nagal could convert only one of the nine break points he generated, which compounded the Indian's woes.
With intermittent rain at Roland Garros, the match began at Court 7 after a considerable delay and had to be suspended after just three games, with Khachanov up a break 2-1. It eventually resumed once the rain abated, but the break did not bring any change of fortunes for Nagal.
Nevertheless, the feisty 26-year-old can keep his head held high as he was the first Indian man since 2019 to compete in the French Open singles main draw. A career-high ATP ranking of 80 had led to Nagal's qualification, and it had been forged by a series of good results in 2024.
Nagal shocked world No. 37 Matteo Arnaldi at the Monte Carlo Masters after becoming the first Indian tennis player to advance to the main draw of the ATP Masters 1000 tournament in 42 years. Prior to that, Nagal had undertaken a historic Australian Open campaign, winning his way through qualifying and beating Kazakhstan’s Alexander Bublik in the first round of the main draw.
The Indian has also qualified for the Wimbledon 2024 main draw, and will be making his debut at the marquee grass court Grand Slam.
