India’s Sumit Nagal went down 6-2, 0-6, 1-6 to world no. 17 Stan Wawrinka to bow out of the quarter final of the Prague Open on Thursday.
Nagal, who faced Wawrinka’s illustrious fellow countryman Roger Federer at the 2019 US Open and took a set off him as well, had the upper hand in the first set but could hardly compete in the second and third.
As was the case in his second round match against Germany’s Oscar Otte, Wawrinka ended up conceding the first set before rallying to take the match.
Nagal’s win came despite two double faults on set point. However, his service started faltering in the second and Wawrinka pounced on the opportunity with his second serve win percentage sinking down to a measly 9 percent towards the end of the third set.
Earlier, Nagal advanced to the singles quarterfinals of the Prague Open with a hard-fought victory over lower-ranked Kiri Lehecka.
India’s top singles player Nagal prevailed 5-7, 7-6(4), 6-3 in two hours and 21 minutes in the second round contest of the 137,560 euro clay court event.