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India’s Sumit Nagal made a thunderous start to his campaign in the Indian Wells Masters after beating USA’s wildcard Stefan Dostanic on Monday, March 4. The youngster took just 68 minutes to beat his opponent 6-2, 6-2 in the opening round of the qualifiers.
26-year-old Nagal, who was making his Indian Wells debut, didn't face a single break point as he dominated the encounter. On the other hand, converted four of his eight break points, stamping his authority on the match.
Dostanic made three double faults and won only 46 percent points on his second serves, making life easier for Nagal, who has been having a dream run in 2024. Nagal had an impressive 79 percent conversion rate on his first serve.
With the win, the Indian star won USD 14,400 in prize money and assured himself 10 ranking points. Nagal will next face Hong Seong-chan of South Korea in the final round of the qualifying round on Tuesday, March 5.
Hong qualified for the match by beating his compatriot Kwon-Soon-woo 6-3, 6-3. Nagal needs to put his best foot forward as Hong has also played two Challenger finals in 2024.
How has Sumit Nagal performed recently?
Nagal has taken rapid strides in his career in the last two months. After beating Alexander Bublik in the opening round of the Australian Open, he received a lot of praise from the tennis fraternity.
Thereafter, he broke into the top 100 for the first time in his career and achieved his best ranking of No.97. He achieved the landmark after beating Italy’s Luca Nardi in the final of the Chennai Open last month.
Nagal will be looking to go from strength to strength this year and continue his impressive performances at the year's remaining Grand Slam tournaments: the French Open, Wimbledon, and the US Open.
