Tokyo Olympics: Sumit Nagal Registers Historic Win in 1st Round vs Istomin
India's Sumit Nagal pulled off a stunning victory against Denis Istomin in his 1st round match 6-4, 6-7, 6-4.
Nagal's win makes him the first Indian since Leander Paes in 1996 in Atlanta to win at an Olympics Tennis Singles event. He was handed a berth in the men's singles draw at the eleventh hour on 16 July after large scale withdrawals.
NAGAL INTO OLYMPICS R2 AFTER 3 HR THRILLER
Sumit Nagal let a 6-4 5-2 lead slip, but eventually beat Denis Istomin
Sumit becomes the first Indian male to win a round at the Olympics Singles since Leander Paes. He will take on ATP #2 Daniil Medvedev next pic.twitter.com/FZ4J5111yn— Indian Tennis Daily (@IndTennisDaily) July 24, 2021
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The first set was a see-saw battle but in the end, Nagal held his nerve and clinched it by a score line of 6-4. Nagal saved two breakpoints in the 2nd game of the match and after that both players held serve till it was 4-4. Nagal broke Istomin's serve in the 9th game and wrapped the set in the following game.
Congratulations to @nagalsumit! He becomes the first #IND male tennis player to qualify for the second round since 1996.
— Olympics (@Olympics) July 24, 2021
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Sumit Nagal is the first man to win a match at the Games since 1996 Atlanta. pic.twitter.com/n5lBCjXPWM
— Tennis GIFs (@tennis_gifs) July 24, 2021
The 2nd set was a one-sided affair for the first 7 games as the Indian carried off from where he left in the opening set.
Nagal broke the Uzbek's serve twice in the first 4 games and was leading 3-1. Istomin however fought back with a break.
Nagal raced off to a 5-2 lead but the 34-year-old made a comeback. The set, which was a 71-minute affair, went into a tie-break and the Uzbek levelled the match.
The final set saw both the players holding their serves for the first eight games. Sumit Nagal pulled off a stunning win in the 9th game to break Istomin for the first time in the 3rd set and take a 5-4 lead.
He successfully served for the match to set up a 2nd round clash with second seed Daniil Medvedev.
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