File photo of Sumit Nagal© AFP
Indian tennis player Sumit Nagal failed to make the main draw of the Miami Open on debut after losing his final qualifying round match to Hong Kong’s Coleman Wong in Miami on Tuesday. Nagal lost 6-3 1-6 5-7 to the 19-year-old, squandering the advantage he secured by winning the first set. Wong, who like Nagal is playing his first Miami Open, defeated France’s Hugo Gaston 6-2 3-6 6-2 in his first qualifying round.
Earlier, Nagal showed great composure on way to a straight-set win over Canada’s Gabriel Diallo to make a bright start to the tournament in his maiden appearance.
The 26-year-old, playing the first-round qualifier match, kept his nerves in the crucial stages to outwit the 6 feet 8 inches tall Canadian Diallo 7-6(3) 6-2 on Monday.
Nagal had broken into the world’s top-100 last month after winning the Chennai Open.
Nagal won the tie-breaker in the first set after saving a break point in the seventh game, while he dominated the second set, breaking Diallo in the first and seventh game.
He is likely to reach a new career-high ranking of world No. 92 after this win.
In his last tournament, Nagal had lost to Milos Raonic at the Indian Wells after qualifying for the main draw following the last-minute withdrawal of Rafael Nadal.
Nagal had created quite a flutter in January when he advanced to the second round of the Australian Open. That effort had played a big part in launching him into the top-100 of the ATP rankings.
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