French Open: Sumit Nagal could not impress in the second Grand Slam of the year, lost to Khachanov in the first round

India’s star tennis player Sumit Nagal could not impress in the second Grand Slam of the year French Open and had to face defeat in the first round of his debut match in the tournament. Nagal was defeated by Russia’s Karen Khachanov. Nagal, who is ranked 95th in the world rankings, had no answer to Khachanov’s strong service and powerful shots. He certainly played brilliantly in the third set but despite that, he lost 2-6, 0-6, 6-7 (5-7). Nagal had surprised everyone by defeating world number 31 Alexander Bublik in the Australian Open but he could not repeat this magic on the red gravel.

Nagal could not maintain the good start
The court had become a bit slow due to rain before the match which was ideal for long rallies. The Indian player started well but it was Khachanov who broke Nagal’s serve in the third game. After this, the game was halted for 21 minutes due to rain. When the game started, the Russian player played brilliantly and left no stone unturned to defeat Nagal. Khachanov hit shots from both ends and in such a situation it became difficult for the Indian player to score points.

Nagal could not stand against Khachanov
In the seventh game of the first set, Nagal was at one point leading 30-0 but Khachanov scored four consecutive points to take the second break point. The Russian player then won the first set with a forehand winner in the next game. Nagal needed a good start in the second set but he lost his serve in the first game itself. After this, the Indian player also had a chance to take a break twice but Khachanov made a good comeback on both occasions. After this, Nagal could not defend his next two serves as well and Khachanov won this set easily. Nagal made a comeback in the third set and saved his first serve but he could not do so in the third game. Meanwhile, Nagal missed two chances to break Khachanov’s serve in the second game. The Russian player scored points on his serve to take a 3-1 lead. The Indian player raised hopes by breaking Khachanov’s serve in the 10th game and equalizing the score to 5-5. The set went into a tie-breaker in which Nagal was leading 5-3 at one stage but he committed a double fault and gave Khachanov a chance to make a comeback and the Russian player did not take much time to win the set and the match.