Sumit Nagal stuns 14th seed Alex Molcan to qualify for Australian Open main draw
Indian Tennis player Sumit Nagal confirmed a berth in the Australian Open 2024 men's singles main draw following his final qualification round victory over Slovakia's Alex Molcan 6-4, 6-4 at Melbourne Park on Friday, January 12.
After being denied the wildcard nomination from the All India Tennis Association (AITA), the top-ranked Indian men's singles player staged an upset against former World No. 38 Molcan in the third and final qualifying round of the Australian Open, which is the first Grand Slam event of the year.
The World No. 139 raced away with a 3-0 lead in the opening set but faced a challenging period when the Slovakian broke his serve to level the games at 3-3.
Sumit Nagal looked rusty as he committed 17 unforced errors in the first six games, but managed to wrap up the game in his favour. His drop shots and forehand cross-court shots sealed the deal for the Haryana-born player.
The second set was extremely close, with both of players holding their serves in the first seven games before Nagal broke the game in a 13-minute engrossing game to extend his lead at 5-3. Both players also received medical treatments during the set.
Sumit Nagal squandered two match points in the ninth game only to win in the next when Molcan made a double fault. The 26-year-old Indian held on to his knees before he picked up the racket and shook hands with the Slovakian.
Sumit Nagal to play his fourth main draw at Grand Slams
The Indian tennis ace is all set to play his fourth main draw of a Grand Slam event. His first appearance at a Major was in the US Open in 2019, where he took one set off 20-time Grand Slam champion Roger Federer in the first round. In the following edition of the US Open in 2020, Nagal became only the second Indian after Somdev Devvarman to reach the second round of a Grand Slam.
Nagal earned a wildcard entry for the Australian Open 2021 but lost to Ricardas Berankis in the first round. He was refused the wildcard nomination from his national federation (AITA) this season after he opted out of the Davis Cup tie in Pakistan scheduled for February, citing the matches were played on a grass court.
The only option left for the youngster was to win three qualifying rounds to make the cut for the Australian Open main draw. He rallied past France's Geoffrey Blancaneaux and local Edward Winter in the first two rounds. Nagal also became the third Indian after Yuki Bhambri and Prajnesh Gunneswaran to qualify for the main draw of the Australian Open via qualifying rounds.
Sumit Nagal will face Kazakhstan's Alexander Bublik in the first round on Monday, January 15.