Sumit Nagal stretched out his hands, face upturned to feel the Melbourne sun and then, after the mandatory handshake at the net, a slow fist pump showed what had just happened.
It did take a few minutes for it to sink in. The 26-year-old world No. 137 had just got past 31st seed Alexander Bublik of Kazakhstan in straight sets to breeze into the Australian Open second round in Melbourne on Tuesday.
Nagal, who came through the qualifiers, won 6-4, 6-2, 7-6 (7-5) in a match that lasted two hours and 38 minutes.
“The last 12-18 months have been both good and bad. Bad because I could not play well, because I was also injured. Good because I learnt a lot during the break. When I came back after the injury, it made me a better player. I became more mature. I understood my game much better and that is what is paying off on the courts now,” Nagal said after his victory.
He suffered a hip injury in 2021 and underwent surgery. After a slow 2022, Nagal played better in 2023, winning two Challengers titles and reaching the finals of two others.
Tuesday saw Nagal pulling off one of the biggest victories of his career by stunning Bublik. His win was the first by an Indian against a seeded player in a grand slam singles main draw in 35 years. The last time it happened was way back in 1989 when Ramesh Krishnan shocked Swede Mats Wilander, the then world No.1 and defending champion, 6-3, 6-2, 7-6 in the second round at the Australian Open.
Nagal will now play China’s teenage wild-card entrant Shang Juncheng in the second round. If he can win that match, then he may face world No.2 Carlos Alcaraz in the third round.
This is the second time for Nagal in the main draw of the Australian Open. In 2021, he had lost 2-6, 5-7, 3-6 to Lithuania’s Ricardas Berankis in the opening round.
At the 2020 US Open, Nagal lost to second seed and eventual champion Dominic Thiem 6-3, 6-3, 6-2 in the second round, after defeating Bradley Klahn in the first. Earlier in 2019, he had a dream encounter with none other than Roger Federer in the first round of the US Open which he lost (6-4, 1-6, 2-6, 4-6) but managed to take a set from the great Swiss.
Tuesday’s win ensured Nagal’s bank balance will grow significantly by almost $ (Australian) 185,000. For someone who had, by his own admission, about 900 euros to his name at the end of the 2023 season, this will be a huge relief and give him the means to plan his 2024 season better.
“If I look at my bank balance, I have what I had at the beginning of the year. It is 900 euros (approx Rs 80,000). The funding I need to break into the top 100 is around
Rs 1 crore,” Nagal had said after the Davis Cup tie against Morocco.
Nagal started Tuesday’s match with a break, setting the tone for the day. He broke Bublik twice to take the first set 6-4 in 42 minutes.
Nagal played better in the second set, again with two breaks and holding his own all through to win 6-2 in 43 minutes. The third set went with serves till the seventh game when Nagal broke his opponent to take a 4-3 lead. He was serving for the match at 5-4 but failed to hold. But he managed to win the tie-breaker 7-5 to seal the deal.
