It’s not very often that an Indian player wins a singles match at a Grand Slam, that too against a seeded opponent, but on Tuesday, Sumit Nagal did create history of sorts. The 26-year-old Indian beat Kazakhstan’s 31-seed Alexander Bublik in straight sets, 6-4, 6-2, 7-6 in the first round.
What makes this win even more monumental is, this is the first time in 35 years, that any Indian has beaten a seeded opponent at a Grand Slam. Prior to this, the last such instance came when Ramesh Krishnan beat former World no.1 Swedish Mats Wilander at the 1989 Australian Open.
Meanwhile, prior to this, Nagal had gone through three rounds of qualifiers. He had beaten Geoffrey Blancaneaux in the first, followed by Edward Winter in the second, and Alex Molcan in the second. This is also the first time Nagal has made it to the second round of the Australian Open. Back in 2021, he had lost in the first round.
