ATP Tour: Nagal overcomes Klein in three sets in poor court conditions in Kitzbuhel

AUSTRIA: India's Sumit Nagal failed to capitalise on six match points and some poor playing conditions before finally overcoming Lukas Klein in three sets in the first round of the Generali Open here on Monday. Nagal let slip six match points before finally overcoming Klein 6-4, 1-6, 7-6(3) to advance to the second round.

Nagal was unhappy with the court conditions, at one time asking the chair umpire, "Tell me how it's possible to play on a court like this." To this, the umpire responded, "I have seen worse", according to an account of the conversation published on social media.

Nagal termed the conditions "bad" and struggled to play his game in the match.

The 26-year-old Indian came back from an early break of serve in the second game to break back Klein's serve in the fifth and ninth games to win the first set. But after that, Nagal lost his rhythm, losing serve in the second, and sixth games as Klein dominated the second set.

Nagal was in trouble after losing his serve in a marathon first game in the third set. The Indian from Haryana was staring at defeat, 3-5 down in the decider before mounting a comeback to win the set in the tie-break, losing break-point opportunities in the 12th game.

Meanwhile, Serbian Laslo Djere continued his strong showing in this Austrian town, moving past qualifier Vit Kopriva to kick-start his 2024 campaign here on Monday. The eighth seed prevailed 7-6(6), 6-3 in the first-round clash at the clay-court ATP 250 tournament. Djere is a two-time semifinalist in Kitzbühel, and he improved his record in the Austrian Alpine town to 8-4 by converting three of four break points he earned against Kopriva, according to Infosys ATP Stats.

Djere will take on Thiago Seyboth Wild, a 6-2, 7-6(6) winner against home favourite Joel Schwaerzler, in the second round. The Serbian defeated Seyboth Wild in the second round in Kitzbuhel last year and holds a 3-0 lead overall in his ATP head-to-head series with the Brazilian.

Yannick Hanfmann and Nicolas Moreno De Alboran also registered first-round wins on Monday in Austria. The 2020 finalist Hanfmann defeated Jaume Munar 6-3, 6-4 and wild card Moreno De Alboran beat Andrea Collarini 6-4, 6-4.

--IANS

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