AUS Open: India's Sumit Nagal knocks out World No. 31 Alexander Bublik, shatters 35-year-old record

Sumit Nagal has already impressed after reaching the Australian Open. But now, he has achieved a massive win to reach the second round in Melbourne. Not only did he pick a big win, but he knocked out World No. 31 Alexander Bublik and established his dominance. Nagal defeated the seeded Bublik in the opening round of the Australian Open.

3 things you need to know

• Sumit Nagal is an Indian Tennis Player
• Nagal is currently competing at the Australian Open
• Sumit Nagal is a 26-year-old tennis player from Jhajjar, Haryana

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Sumit Nagal breaks 35-year-old record at Australian Open

Indian tennis star Sumit Nagal stunned the World Number 27 Alexander Bublik of Kazakhstan in straight sets to enter the second round of the Australian Open. The 26-year-old Nagal, who made it to the main draw after going though the qualifiers, beat 31st seed Bublik 6-4 6-2 7-6(7-5) in a grueling match that lasted around two hours and 38 minutes. 

It would be Nagal's first ever progression to the Australian Open second round. In 2021, he had lost to Lithuania's Ričardas Berankis in the opening round 2-6, 5-7, 3-6. For the second time in his career, the Indian player ranked 139th in the world will compete in the Grand Slam event's second round.

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Nagal got out to a fast start, breaking Bublik in the first game, but he then failed to hold on to his own serve, leaving the score at 1-1. Later in the opening set, the Indian broke his opponent's serve again to win 6-4 in 42 minutes.

Nagal improved even more in the second set, breaking his opponent's serve twice while holding his own throughout to win 6-2 in 43 minutes. Both players held their serves in the third set until the seventh game, when Sumit broke his opponent to take a 4-3 lead. He then took a 5-3 lead. At 5-4, the Indian served for the match, but failed to hold. The third set was subsequently decided by a tiebreaker, which the Indian Tennis player won 7-5.

With inputs from PTI