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Denied a wildcard, down to his last 900 euros, Sumit Nagal fought against all odds to script history at the Australian Open by reaching the second round.
In a thrilling but almost one-sided encounter, Nagal made easy work of Kazakhstan's Alexander Bublik in the first round of the Australian Open.
The Indian tennis star from Jhajjar defeated the 31-seeded Kazakh with a scoreline of 6-4, 6-2, 7-6 (7-5), in a match that lasted two hours and thirty-seven minutes.
Social media went into a frenzy after the victory, and fans and fellow players took to X (formerly Twitter) to express their delight at seeing Sumit Nagal create history by defeating 31-seeded Alexander Bublik.
One fan highlighted all the struggles the 26-year-old overcame to achieve such a milestone.
THIS MAN has fought the system, disadvantaged beginnings, requested financial support and wildcards but eventually was compelled to take it upon himself to create history for all of us! HE DESERVES ALL THE NOISE SUMIT NAGAL you make us so proud," they wrote.
Another fan apploauded the "phenomenal effort" by Nagal to stage the upset.
"An upset today, but not for us. A phenomenal effort from Sumit Nagal as he defeats Sasha Bublik in straight sets in the #AO24. An Underdog story," they wrote.
Here are more fan reactions to Sumit Nagal’s momentous triumph at the Australian Open 2024:
A closer look at Sumit Nagal's win and the magnitude of his achievement at the Australian Open 2024
Sumit Nagal's victory ended a drought for Indian men's singles players at Grand Slam events. The last time an Indian men's singles player achieved such a feat was at the US Open in 2020, where Sumit Nagal himself emerged victorious. Before Nagal's triumph, it was former player turned commentator Somdev Devvarman who had last secured a win at a Grand Slam nearly a decade ago.
Nagal's match againt Bublik began with the Indian taking control right from the first set, securing it with a score of 6-4. The momentum continued into the second set, where he comfortably outplayed Bublik to secure a 6-2 victory. The third set, however, witnessed a turn of events as Bublik fought back, taking a 6-5 lead. Nagal, however, kept his cool, leveling the score at 6-6 and eventually clinching the set in a tiebreaker.
While Nagal served only one ace during the match, compared to Bublik's 13, the Kazakh's downfall came in the form of nine double faults, something that Nagal managed to completely avoid. Bublik's last two double faults occurred at a very crucial moment in the match—one gave Nagal a match point and the other sealed the Indian's historic win.
Nagal's victory also marks a historic moment for Indian tennis. With this win, Nagal became the first Indian to defeat a seeded player at a Grand Slam since the legendary Ramesh Krishnan.
The Indian will now take on the wildcard entry from China, Juncheng Shang. Juncheng is ranked just 3 places below Nagal at 142.
Other Indian tennis players in action at the Australian Open are Yuki Bhambri, Rohan Bopanna, and India’s double pair of Vijay Sundar Prashanth and Anirudh Chandrasekar.
