Error-prone Nagal makes first round exit from Wimbledon

LONDON: India's top singles player Sumit Nagal committed 44 unforced errors as he made a first round exit from the Wimbledon, going down in four sets to Miomir Kecmanovic of Serbia here.

Making his maiden appearance in the men's singles main draw, Nagal toiled hard for two hours 38 minutes and even managed to take a set off world number 53 Kecmanovic before conceding a 2-6 6-3 3-6 4-6 defeat on Monday night.

The 26-year-old, ranked 72 did show flashes of brilliance as hit 47 winners but in general, struggled on the grass court. In the end, he could manage only 104 points against Kecmanovic's 122.

The 53rd ranked Serbian fired six aces and only conceded two double faults.

This was Kecmanovic's second win in as many matches against Nagal, having beaten the Indian at the ATP 250 event in Cologne, Germany, four years ago.

The Paris Olympics bound Nagal is the first Indian in five years to play a Wimbledon men's singles main draw match. Prajnesh Gunneswaran had made a first-round exit in 2019.

Nagal is having a dream season as he had also qualified for the main draw of the Australian Open earlier this year. He had stunned 31st-seeded Alexander Bublik of Kazakhstan in the opening round to become the first Indian male tennis player to beat a seeded player in 35 years in a Slam.

He had also qualified for the main draw of the Indian Wells Masters and Monte-Carlo Masters, the ATP 1000 events.

The Indian has won two Challenger events this season the Heilbronn Challenger and the Chennai Open ATP Challenger. He also competed at the French Open, losing in the opening round.