New Delhi: India’s top singles player Sumit Nagal will face Czech Republic’s Tomas Machac in the opening round of the Australian Open that begins in Melbourne on Sunday.
At 96, Nagal is the highest ranked Indian tennis player in singles and qualified for the main round of the season-opening Grand Slam by finishing within the top 104 in the ATP rankings.
Last year, the 27-year-old, then 137th in the world had stunned No.27 Kazakhstan’s Alexander Bublik in the first round of the Australian Open before getting beaten by China’s Juncheng Shang in the second round.
In the build-up to this year’s tournament, Nagal was beaten in the opening round of the Auckland ASB Classic on Monday, going down to USA’s Alex Michelsen 7-6 (8), 4-6, 2-6 in two hours and 40 minutes.
Nagal has recently made headlines after refusing to be on national duty for the Davis Cup.
Intresting duels drawn up
Defending champion Jannik Sinner will be up against Nicolas Jarry in the first round and has Taylor Fritz, Ben Shelton and Daniil Medvedev in his quarter of the draw.
Ten-time Australian Open winner Novak Djokovic is in the opposite side of the draw and could meet No. 3 Carlos Alcaraz in the quarterfinals and No. 2 Alexander Zverev in the semis.
In the women’s singles section, title holder Aryna Sabalenka will be eyeing to emulate Martina Hingis with a third consecutive title at Melbourne Park.
Sabalenka face a tough opening round match against 2017 US Open winner Sloane Stephens and also has Mirra Andreeva and Zheng in her side of the draw.
“I have a lot of great memories and to be back here … as a two-time Australian Open champion, it’s definitely something special. I hope that I can keep doing what I’m doing here in Australia,” Sabalenka said.
At 96, Nagal is the highest ranked Indian tennis player in singles and qualified for the main round of the season-opening Grand Slam by finishing within the top 104 in the ATP rankings. Tennis Sports News: Latest Cricket News, Cricket Live Score, Sports Breaking News from Sports Today
