Sumit Nagal soars into second round of Argentina Open
Indian notches his first win on the ATP Tour with victory over Joao Sousa
After battling into the main draw, Sumit Nagal produced a blistering performance in Buenos Aires to see off Portugal's Joao Sousa and advance to the second round of the ATP 250 event.
The world number 150 won eleven successive games to seal an emphatic 6-2, 6-0 triumph on clay.
It was Nagal's first ever win on the ATP Tour proper and will serve as a huge confidence boost for the 23-year old Indian.
Buenos Aires is clearly a venue very much to Sumit Nagal's liking.
The Indian won the Challenger event here two years ago, and bagged three wins in qualifying to move into the main draw of the 250 event this time out.
Despite being ranked 50 places lower than his experienced rival, Nagal was utterly dominant in the encounter - breaking Sousa's serve six times in a row to wrap up the win in an hour and ten minutes.
Next up for Nagal will be a formidable test.
Lying in wait in the second round is clay court specialist Cristian Garin of Chile.
Garin is seeded number two for the tournament and received a bye into the round of 16.
Watch him live in action on EUROSPORT and EUROSPORT HD from 21:30 Hrs (09:30 pm IST) onwards on Thursday, 4th March 2021.