French Open: Sumit Nagal loses to Khachanov after a two-hour 27-minute battle
The 26-year-old Nagal eventually lost 6-2, 6-0, 7-6(5) in a 2 hour and 27-minute match played on Court 7 which was interrupted by rain for some time here on Monday.
The pressure of playing back-to-back qualifiers followed by a main draw match the next day took a toll on India’s top-ranked tennis player Sumit Nagal as he bowed out in the opening round of the ATP 500 Barcelona Open on Monday.
Nagal lost to Frenchman Pierre-Hugues Herbert, a top-100 player, 5-7, 0-6 after failing to convert two break chances in the first set when the match was evenly poised at 5-all and Nagal was leading 15-40.
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The Indian then lost eight consecutive games to Herbert, who has completed a Career Grand Slam in men’s double, following victories at the 2015 US Open, 2016 Wimbledon, 2018 French Open and 2019 Australian Open with Nicola Mahut.
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Earlier, Nagal, ranked 135th in the world, had defeated Italy’s Thomas Fabbiano 7-6(1), 6-3 to enter the main draw.
The Barcelona Open is one of the most important events in Spanish tennis with Rafael Nadal having won the title 11 times.
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