Sumit Nagal scripted history for Indian tennis on Tuesday by becoming the first player from the country in 35 years to defeat a seeded opponent in a Grand Slam.
Nagal stunned world No. 27 Alexander Bublik of Kazakhstan in a commanding straight-set victory — 6-4, 6-2, 7-6(7-5) — to progress to the second round of the Australian Open in Melbourne.
Nagal stunned world No. 27 Alexander Bublik of Kazakhstan in a commanding straight-set victory — 6-4, 6-2, 7-6(7-5) — to progress to the second round of the Australian Open in Melbourne.
Ranked 139th in the world, the 26-year-old Nagal had fought his way into the main draw through the qualifiers.
Before this, Ramesh Krishnan was the last Indian to have defeated a seeded player in the main draw of a Grand Slam, when he went past the then world No. 1 Mats Wilander at the 1989 Australian Open.
It’s the second time that Nagal has entered the second round of a Grand Slam, having done it previously at the 2020 US Open.
(PTI Photo)
Here’s how Nagal’s victory was celebrated on the social media:
