Who will be Sumit Nagal’s opponent in second round of 2024 Australian Open?

Sumit Nagal has sailed through to the second round of the 2024 Australian Open after registering a dominant 6-4, 6-2, 7-6(5) win against Alexander Bublik on Tuesday, January 16.

Nagal will next face either Mackenzie McDonald or Chinese wildcard Shang Juncheng on Thursday, January 18 in the second-round clash. The two are currently in action, with the former leading 3-6, 6-1, 6-3, 1-2 at the time of writing.

Nagal took on 31st seed Bublik in the opening round of the Melbourne Major. The Indian started strong, showing remarkable composure and resilience. The first set was a tight affair as both players held their serve until the tenth game.

Nagal then seized the opportunity at 5-4 by breaking Bublik's serve to claim the opener 6-4 and take control of the match. He upped his game in the second set and an aggressive baseline tennis helped him take a 2-0 lead in the contest.

Former World No. 25 Bublik, however, showed some fight in the third set, pushing Nagal into a tie-break, where the 26-year-old squandered two set points before a double fault from the Russian sealed the contest in Nagal's favor.

Besides being his first victory against a Top 50 player, Nagal is now the first Indian to reach the second round of the Australian Open since Somdev Devvarman in 2013, who had conceded a two-set lead to go down against Poland's Jerzy Janowicz.

Additionally, Nagal, ranked 137th in the world, has become the first Indian male player to beat a seeded opponent at a Grand Slam since 1989, when Ramesh Krishnan defeated the then World No. 1 Mats Wilander 6-3, 6-2, 7-6 win in the second round Down Under.

The Haryana-born player is just the fifth Indian men’s singles player to reach the second round of the Australian Open.