US Open: Sumit Nagal bows out in Round 1 despite spirited fight vs Griekspoor

India’s Sumit Nagal bowed out of the US Open after losing in straight sets to Tallon Griekspoor on Tuesday, August 27.

Nagal showed spirit but lost his Round 1 match 1-6, 3-6, 6-7 (6) against the Dutch opponent. Playing at Court 15, Nagal brought out his trademark forehands against Griekspoor but was not able to hand his speed and agility on the court.

The Indian star had a chance to make a comeback after stretching the third set to a tiebreak, but squandered three set points to lose the game. Nagal is the first Indian to play the main draw of the singles competition in all four Grand Slams in the last 5 years.

On the day, Tallon Griekspoor’s dominant first serve put Nagal in a lot of trouble. The World No. 40 player from the Netherlands put Nagal in trouble throughout the game with his serve and tremendous backhand return. Nagal, ranked 73 in the world is currently playing his best tennis and showed a lot of spirit to make a comeback after getting outplayed in the first two sets 1-6, 3-6.

Nagal was much more proactive in the third set of the match but continued to struggle with the serves from his opponent. The Indian minimised the number of his unforced errors to pile the pressure on the Dutch star. This resulted in Nagal serving for the set at 6-5, but managed to completely fluff his serve. A double fault and multiple unforced errors were his downfall in this particular game, something that Nagal had not exhibited earlier in the third set of the match.

After Griekspoor was able to save the set point, he showed strong character in the 7-point tiebreak as well, winning the set and the match 8-6.

Nagal will have one more shot at the US Open when he plays the men’s doubles competition with Japan’s Yoshihito Nishioka. Nagal and Nishioka will take court early in the morning on 29 August as per Indian Standard Time.