Nagal First Indian To Beat Seeded Player In Grand Slam Since 1989

LATE LAST YEAR, India's top-ranked singles player Sumit Nagal had highlighted the financial uncertainty of many journeymen professional tennis players ranked outside the top 100.

- NAMIT KUMAR

"If I look at my bank balance, I have what I had at the beginning of the year. It is 900 Euros (about ₹80,000)," he had said.

On Tuesday, after becoming the first Indian since Ramesh Krishnan in 1989 to beat a seeded player in the singles main draw of a Grand Slam, Nagal was looking at a windfall.

Going ahead, even if he loses his next match, after beating 27th seed Kazakh Alexander Bublik 6-4, 6-2, 76 (5) in the first round of the 2024 Australian Open, the 26-year-old will walk away with Aus$ 180,000 (about ₹98 lakh).

For Nagal, it was an emotional moment. "Obviously, I'm not crying right now, but of course, at the same time it hasn't completely sunk in yet," he said after his upset win. "Last year was probably one of my best years... but I still had 900 Euros. I wasn't able to get into tournaments, relying on wild cards to finish as World No. 130 again. What I have done, is not an incredible record-breaking thing, (but) from where I started, I was pretty proud of myself to be able to give myself another chance to be here, to qualify and now to play the second round. It's a good feeling."

Nagal, a solid baseliner who builds his game around a big forehand and his athleticism and footspeed, was up against a streaky opponent.