India’s Tokyo Olympics tennis campaign ends as Sumit Nagal loses to Daniil Medvedev
The world No. 160 Indian tennis player lost 6-2, 6-1 to the world No. 2 Daniil Medvedev in the men’s singles second round.
India’s tennis campaign at the Tokyo Olympics came to an end on Monday as world No. 160 Sumit Nagal lost 6-2, 6-1 to world No. 2 Daniil Medvedev of the Russian Olympic Committee (ROC) in the men’s singles second round at the Ariake Tennis Park.
Cheered on by compatriots Ankita Raina and Sania Mirza from the stands, Nagal stayed in quite a few rallies with solid crosscourt backhands and his strong inside-out forehand. But Medvedev, an Australian Open and US Open finalist, put sustained pressure on the Indian’s service games, breaking him five times.
Sumit Nagal, on the other hand, could not earn a single break point in the match, although he did go deep in a few of Medvedev’s service games.
A netted down-the-line backhand on break point meant Nagal lost his serve in the very first game of the match on court No. 1.
Nagal fought back to take the 25-year old Medvedev to deuce in the ROC player’s opening service game with a nice approach to the net. Daniil Medvedev, however, made it 2-0 after a sharp crosscourt deep to the forehand corner.
Having to play one shot too many, Sumit Nagal went for a lot on the forehand to concede another break in the first set. Medvedev sealed the opening set 6-2 with an ace.
In the first game of the second set, Nagal fell behind 15-40 with a wayward forehand followed by a long backhand at the end of a hard-fought rally. He saved the first break point but found the net off the second to be broken for the third time in the match.
Like he had in the first set, Nagal pushed Medvedev to deuce in the next game with a lovely net approach and volley. But the Indian tennis player then sent a forehand wide as Medvedev held on for 2-0.
A double fault from Sumit Nagal at 0-30 gave Daniil Medvedev three break points and even as the Indian saved the first two, Medvedev broke his serve for the fourth time to go 4-1 up.
Medvedev kept coming hard at Nagal, and a long forehand on a net approach meant the Indian was broken for the fifth and final time in the match to lose the match in an hour and seven minutes.
The 23-year old Nagal had defeated Denis Istomin of Uzbekistan in the first round, becoming the first Indian since Leander Paes at Atlanta 1996 to win an Olympics men’s singles tennis match.
Sania Mirza and Ankita Raina lost their opening match in the women’s doubles to the Kichenok sisters on Sunday.