By Krishna Menon
3rd September, 2020
Sumit Nagal
Source- (thebridge.in)
The 23-year-old start made the country proud and received headlines over his first win at a Grand Slam match. Nagal clinched an astounding victory against Bradley Klahn with the score being 6-1,6-3,3-6 and 6-1. Thus, filling the void of victories for India in the Grand Slam seven years after Somdev Devvarman beat Lucas Lacko in 2013.
Nagal faced off against Klahn in the US Open in New York, getting his first victory on Tuesday. During the ordeal, which went past two hours, Nagal won his first two sets effortlessly, only to lose his flow for one set, where he lost 3-6 to his formidable American opponent. He then finished it off grandly with a set of 6-1 against Klahn. Nagal played with exuberance and precision, making only 17 errors in the game and demonstrating some serious footwork by scurrying around the court. For his performance in the match, he gained 116 points while Klahn got 80. Nagal managed to walk away with a hefty prize money of $1,00,000, making it his highest earning in his career.
Nagal felt overwhelmed for the support and attention he received for his victory. He felt proud to hold the achievement for the country. To get to his current form, Nagal worked hard on his weak spot, which was his serve during practice sessions. This can be seen during his performance in the match as he dominated 80% (70/88) of his first serves, making it his weapon of strength in the match. Nadal had previously received such attention when he managed to get the first set off tennis legend Roger Federer but lost the match during the US Open in 2019. For his second round, he will have to face the intimidating Austrian powerhouse Dominic Thiem, who is currently World No.3.
Dominic Thiem advanced to the second round of the US Open after his Spanish opponent Jaume Munar retired from a knee injury in the second set of the match. The Austrian complimented Nagal’s forehand swing and looked forward to testing his mettle against the player. Thiem will be a big hurdle Nagal has to face to advance and this will be answered in the faceoff taking place on 3rd September 2020.
Sources: Times of India, NDTV Sports.
Edited by - Hrishit Roy