How Sumit Nagal toppled 31st seed Alexander Bublik to enter Australian Open 2nd round

Up 5 4 in the third set of his first round match at the Australian Open on Tuesday, Sumit Nagal stepped up to serve for a historic win. Not since Ramesh Krishnan’s victory against top ranked Mats Wilander at the 1989 Australian Open had an Indian defeated a seeded player at a Grand Slam. Sumit Nagal of India celebrates after defeating Alexander Bublik of Kazakhstan in their first round match at the Australian Open(AP) But Kazakhstan’s Alexander Bublik, arguably the most mercurial character on tour, broke back to draw level.

And thus began the most impressive period of play from Nagal. Amazon Sale season is here! Splurge and save now! Click here The 26 year old had eked out the opening set before breezing through the second, but Bublik seemed to have finally found his range. The 31st seed, who’s ranked 27th in the world, was firing winners from both flanks and pumping himself up animatedly.

Would Nagal crumble? Would he be able to regain his composure and close out a straight sets win? To the sheer delight of the hundreds of Indian fans who had turned up at Court 6, that’s exactly what Nagal went on to do. He held his next service game to love to force a tie breaker, before completing a 6 4, 6 2, 7 6(5) victory in two hours and 37 minutes.

He squandered two match points on serve as Bublik threatened to make a comeback right towards the end as well, but managed to cross the line at last as his opponent send down a second successive double fault. As he spread his arms and looked up at the heavens, you could see how much the win meant to Nagal.

He had come a long way, after a hip surgery in late 2021 and a tough season in 2022, to become the first Indian to appear in the singles main draw of a Major in three years. Ranked 137, he had won all three of his qualifying matches in straight sets and one knew he was going to make the most of every opportunity he got.

Bublik was always going to be a tough first round opponent. Not only was the 26 year old a seed, he had form on his side having defeated Daniel Evans and Lorenzo Musetti en route to the Adelaide International semi finals last week. The unpredictable game he possesses – with tweeners, underarm serves and every other possible surprise – only added to the challenge.

Nagal, however, played an incredibly smart game to keep his nose in front throughout. His serve speeds remained lower than Bublik’s but his first serve percentage was much higher. He covered the court well, as he usually does, and dictated points with blistering forehands. Bublik’s serve is one of his biggest weapons but he couldn’t find his range with it, while Nagal remained patient to let his opponent make mistakes and grab his moments as and when they came.

It was just the second main draw victory in four appearances at a Grand Slam for Nagal. He will face the winner of the match between China's Juncheng Shang and USA's Mackenzie McDonald in the second round. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON Share this article Share Via Copy Link Australian Open Grand Slam Sumit Nagal.