Nagal aims to go all the way this year in Chennai
The 26-year-old went all in at the opening game, beating Prajwal 6-1, 6-2, to make amends for his loss last year in the semi-final and win the trophy on his home soil.
Sumit Nagal reacts after winning a point against Prajwal Dev in his first round match on Tuesday
CHENNAI: India’s number one Sumit Nagal kicked off his Chennai Open ATP Challenger season with a dominant victory against his compatriot Prajwal Dev in the first round match at the SDAT Stadium on Tuesday.
The 26-year-old went all in at the opening game, beating Prajwal 6-1, 6-2, to make amends for his loss last year in the semi-final and win the trophy on his home soil.
“Last year is last year; this is a new start. It’s a good first round to start the season; I played a solid match in both sets. It was unfortunate to play Prajwal in the first round after both of us made the cut among the Indian qualifiers, but that’s the way it is in tennis,” said Sumit Nagal, speaking to the media.
He is playing his first match since the Australian Open, when he made headlines for beating the seeded player Alexander Bublik in the first round. Speaking about his experience playing the prestigious tournament, he said, “I had a great experience playing in Australia, as it was my first-time winning a round there; it gave me good confidence in my body and in my game.”
He believes that the momentum is with him to have a good tournament here in the Chennai Challenger, and he proved it by dominating the first match against Prajwal.
The opening set was a cakewalk for Sumit, as the first three games were flawless for the second seed. But in the fourth set, Prajwal put up a tough fight, scoring the initial points, but the ever-serene Sumit showcased a brilliant comeback to win the game after being down by 15-40.
Dev saved the set from a bagel (when the set ends 6-0), as he won the sixth game with a score of 40-15.
Nagal bagged the first set easily with a score of 6-1 to return to the court high on confidence after his good show at the Australian Open.
In the second set, Prajwal played great to equalise the score at 2-2 but couldn’t extend his good run as the 26-year-old won four games on the trot to win the second set at 6-2, storming into the round of 16 where he will face the Italian Giovanni Fonio.