'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,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'%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
Sumit Nagal was seen celebrating emphatically after beating Alexander Bublik in the first round of the Australian Open 2024.
Nagal created history by beating 31-seeded Alexander Bublik of Kazakhstan in straight sets, becoming the first Indian tennis player to beat a seeded player at a grand slam since Ramesh Krishnan beat Mats Wilander all the way back in 1989.
The thrilling match, which lasted two hours and thirty-seven minutes, witnessed the 26-year-old athlete from Jhajjar beat Bublik with a score of 6-4, 6-2, 7-6 (7-5). While the match had its nail-biting moments towards the end, the remaining part saw Sumit Nagal play some confident strokes.
Although the match saw Nagal serve only one ace compared to Bublik's thirteen, the Kazakh's nine double faults proved to be his downfall. Crucially, Bublik's last two double faults occurred at the death, with one gifting Nagal a match point and the other sealing the historic victory for the Indian player.
His achievement not only has Indian tennis enthusiasts celebrating but has also earned recognition from the official Instagram account of the Australian Open, which shared a video capturing Sumit Nagal's exuberant celebration post-victory.
"WHAT A MOMENT FOR @nagalsumit 🇮🇳," they captioned the post.
Sumit Nagal is set to face the wildcard entry from China, Juncheng Shang, in the next round.
Yuki Bhambri loses thrilling three set battle
Meanwhile, another Indian tennis star, Yuki Bhambri, along with his Dutch partner Robin Haase, ended up on the losing side of a thrilling three-set battle against the Brazil-Columbian duo of Rafael Matos and Nicolas Barrientos.
Despite starting strong with a 6-1 first-set win, Bhambri and Haase ended up losing the subsequent sets in tiebreakers. The Indian-Dutch pair also squandered three match points in the deciding set to end their campaign at the opening Grand Slam of the new season. The final score of the two-hour, twenty-six-minute match was 6-1, 6-7 (10-8), 6-7 (10-7).
31-year-old Bhambri achieved his best performance in a Grand Slam doubles event at the Australian Open way back in 2014, reaching the third round.
The three other Indians in contention at the Australian Open, Rohan Bopanna, N. Prashanth, and A. Chandrasekar, will take the court on Thursday, January 18.
