From Near Empty Pockets To Ending Indian Tennis' 35-Year Wait: How Sumit Nagal Achieved The Improbable At Australian Open

Sumit Nagal returned to the big stage in grand style, pulling off one of the biggest victories of his career by stunning world number 27 Alexander Bublik of Kazakhstan in straight sets to breeze into the Australian Open second round on Tuesday. Someone who was denied a regional wild card opportunity by the AITA for his refusal to play Davis Cup, Nagal came through qualifiers and sent packing 31st seed Bublik 6-4, 6-2, 7-6(5) in a gruelling match that lasted two hours and 38 minutes. Nagal, ranked 137 in the world, is playing in a Grand Slam main draw for the first time since 2021 Australian Open when he had lost to Lithuania's Ricardas Berankis in the opening round.

Nagal's victory was first by an Indian against a seeded player in a Grand Slam main draw in 35 years. The last time it happened was way back in 1989 when Ramesh Krishnan shocked Swede Mats Wilander, the then world number one and defending champion at the Australian Open.

In the 2020 US Open, Nagal had lost to second seed and eventual champion Dominic Thiem in the second round.

"It's very happy and proud moment for me. I am happy with the way I could perform today and get the win for myself," said Nagal, who had taken a set off the legendary Roger Federer in the 2019 US Open.

Nagal said he did not want to get carried away with the fact he was dominating the contest against Bublik.

"I was keeping my focus very narrow. I was trying to focus on myself as much as possible. You know, there is a scoreboard behind you what's going on in the match but I was trying to do things I was supposed to do and keep working on the tactics." The 26-year-old will next play China's Juncheng Shang, ranked 140, on Thursday. If he happens to win the second round, there is potential third round clash with world No. 2 Carlos Alcaraz of Spain.

"As of now I am not thinking about the next match. I want this win to sink in. I want to take it easy today, start preparations from tomorrow," he said.

Nagal had started the 2023 season outside top-500 and now this performance could push him to top-100 for the first time in his career.

By wining the first round, Nagal has ensured that he will pocket at least AUD 120,000 in addition to the AUD 65,000 for his three wins in the qualifying stage.

It means that Nagal has secured his 2024 ATP Tour budget that is no less than one crore Indian rupees.

Nagal had told PTI in an interaction last year that he is left with only 900 Euros in his pocket at the end of the season. The prize money already secured will take off a lot of financial burden off his shoulders. "If I look at my bank balance, I have what I had at the beginning of the year. It is 900 euros (approx Rs 80,000). The funding I need to break into top-100 is around one crore," Nagal had told PTI after Davis Cup tie against Morocco.

Nagal had landed a lot of sponsorships after that interview.

"Last year was probably one of the best years where, like I said, you know, 900 Euros, not getting into tournaments for first few months, relying on wild cards in February to finishing 130 again.

"It's not an incredible, or like, record breaking thing. From where I started, I was pretty proud of myself to be able to give myself another chance to be here, to qualify, to like I said, play second round on Thursday. It's a good feeling," he said.

The Indian was off to an impressive start as he broke Bublik in the first game of the match but he also failed to hold on to his own serve next as the scoreline read 1-1.

The Indian then broke his opponent's serve twice to take the opening set 6-4 in 42 minutes.

Nagal kept the ball in the play while the usual big-serving Bublik was struggling to get his rhythm. The Kazakh player's big forehand helped him only in patches. His first serve was a huge disappointment while Nagal, despite his limitation with his serve, managed to hurt the tall Kazakh with consistency.

Nagal played even better in the second set as he broke serve of his opponent twice while holding his own all through to win 6-2 in 43 minutes.

In the third set, both the players held their serve till the seventh game when Nagal broke his opponent to take a 4-3 lead. He then cruised ahead at 5-3.

The Indian then served for the match at 5-4 but failed to hold. The third set went into the tie-breaker with Nagal eventually winning 7-5.

Nagal had made it to the main draw with a 6-4 6-4 win over Slovakia's Alex Molcan in the tournament's qualifying final on Friday.

Nagal made his Slam debut in the 2019 US Open against the iconic Roger Federer. He took a set off the Swiss giant but lost the match 6-4, 1-6, 2-6, 4-6 eventually. In the first round of the 2020 US Open, Nagal had beaten American Bradley Klahn to become the first Indian to win a Grand Slam singles match since Somdev Devvarman's victory in 2013.