Second seed Sumit Nagal advanced into the semi-finals of the Chennai Open 2024 after beating Czech Republic’s Dominick Palan 6-3, 6-3 on Friday, February 9.
While Nagal had to fight hard for a spot in the quarterfinals against Giovanni Fonio, his journey to the semi-finals proved to be smoother.
Nagal dominated the proceedings for the major part of the game and secured a win inside 1 hour and 31 minutes.
Nagal vs Palan – Key Stats
Dominik Palan
7 aces
6 double faults
63% first serve points won
45% second serve points won
3 out of 6 break points saved
Sumit Nagal
3 aces
0 double faults
73% first serve points won
63% second serve points won
2 out of 2 break points saved
Nagal will face the winner of India’s Sasikumar versus Czech’s Dalibor Svrčina in the semi-final on Saturday.
Earlier, the 26-year-old had said that he is aiming to maintain his fitness ahead of the Paris Olympics later this year.
“Staying fit would be the highest priority. The second [goal] would be to play in the Olympics, which would be a nice feeling. But for that, you need to be within the top 100,” Nagal said during the Chennai Open ATP Challenger event.
“It [Paris Olympic qualification] would only be possible if I keep winning matches. I have to focus on upcoming matches and not wonder about what’s going to happen in the next five months because tennis is a very unpredictable sport where anything can happen. I like to keep short goals“, the 26-year-old further added.
