Australian Open 2025: Sumit Nagal bows out in first round
What's the story
Indian tennis star Sumit Nagal had a disappointing start to the 2025 Australian Open. He was defeated in the opening round by Czech Republic's Tomas Machac. The match, held at Melbourne Park on January 12, ended with a scoreline of 6-3, 6-1, 7-5 in favor of Machac. It was an early exit for Nagal, who was India's sole representative in the singles category at the year's first Grand Slam.
Match details
A look at match stats
Despite a promising start to the 2025 season, Nagal couldn't replicate his last year's success at the Australian Open. The match against 26th-seeded Machac saw him struggle, especially in winning breakpoints during the final set. Machac, on his part, dominated from the start and won 78% first-serve points as well as seven out of 15 break points.
Performance analysis
Nagal's unforced errors and lack of aces
Nagal's performance was littered with 20 unforced errors and no aces in the match. Although he showed promise with his serves eventually, the mistakes cost him dearly. The match against Machac went on for two hours and five minutes, eventually culminating in Nagal's defeat. This comes after Nagal's earlier defeats in the Auckland Open qualifiers. He was beaten by USA's Alex Michelsen after a grueling two-hour and 40-minute battle.