US Open 2019 | Sumit Nagal reaches final qualifying round for first time

08/23/2019

Haryana tennis ace Sumit Nagal has managed to reach the final qualifying round of the US Open after he overcame the challenge of Canada’s Peter Polansky in his last match. Meanwhile, Indian tennis star Prajnesh Gunneswaran has drawn Cincinnati champion Daniil Medvedev in the first round.

Nagal took a huge step towards his very first appearance in a Grand Slam as the 190th ranked player defeated 192nd ranked Polansky 7-5 7-6 in a hard-fought match during the second round of the US Open qualifiers on Thursday. The match lasted for over two hours.

Starting on the offensive, Nagal was seen breaking Polansky in the second game itself and take a 2-0 lead. However, his inexperience saw the Canadian breaking the Indian back twice and getting the advantage. But, the Indian athlete fought back to break his opponent to win the first set 7-5.

The second set wasn’t very different and had a similar pattern with Nagal drawing the first blood yet again and Polanksy coming from behind to break him back. And Nagal managed to get the better of both to emerge victorious in the tie-breaker.

22-year-old Nagal would now be facing Brazil’s Joao Menezes, ranked 210, in the final qualifying round and would definitely be the favourite of the two. The youngster had competed in the qualifiers of Australian Open, the French Open, and the Wimbledon Championships last year, failing to register a single win.

In another draw, India’s top-ranked Prajnesh Gunneswaran has gotten a tough draw against fifth seed Daniil Medvedev in his very first round. The Russian has been in fine form after coming off a brilliant win at the Cincinnati Open where he defeated David Goffin and Novak Djokovic to win his maiden ATP Masters 1000 title.

Prajnesh, on the other hand, would come into the US Open first round after a loss in his last match of the Winston-Salem Open against Benoit Paire.