After Ankita Raina lost to 17-year-old Sarah Bejlek in straight sets, Sumit Nagal remains India’s only hope of playing in the main draw of Australian Open 2024.
Nagal played in the 2021 edition of the hard-court tournament at Melbourne Park, but crashed out in the opening round itself. The 26-year-old, who is the only Indian to take a set off the legendary Roger Federer at the 2019 US Open, is now a step closer to advancing to the main draw of the event in 2024.
The youngster is set to lock horns with Slovakia’s Alex Molcan on Friday, January 12, and a win will take him through to the main draw. Nagal has been impressive, winning both his matches in the Australian Open qualifiers in straight sets.
In his first match, Nagal beat France’s Geoffrey Blancaneaux 6-3, 7-5. He earned two service breaks to come up trumps. At 5-5 in the second set, Blancaneaux was giving a tough fight to Nagal before the latter put forth his A-game. The fact that Nagal gave his French opponent only a single chance to break his serve showed how dominating he was.
In his second match in the qualifiers on Thursday, January 12, Nagal beat Edward Winter 6-3, 6-2. Winter earned a break, but Nagal converted five out of his seven chances of service breaks to triumph over his opponent.
Nagal also won 83 percent of his second serves to make life easier for himself. It now remains to be seen if he can win his third match in a row and break into the main draw.
Sumit Nagal’s Australian Open 2024 qualifiers match: When to watch?
Sumit Nagal’s final qualifying match in Australian Open 2024 can be watched from 7:05 am IST on Friday, January 12.
Sumit Nagal’s Australian Open 2024 qualifiers match: Where to watch?
Sumit Nagal’s final qualifying match in Australian Open 2024 can be watched on the Sony Sports Network and Sony LIV app.