MELBOURNE, Feb 9: India’s Sumit Nagal exited the Australian Open with a first-round defeat, struggling to cope with the power-packed game of Lithuanian Ricardas Berankis, here on Tuesday.
Nagal’s challenge deflated in a matter of minutes as Berankis’ powerful ground strokes proved to be too good for the Indian, who lost 2-6 5-7 3-6 in two hours and 10 minutes. Nagal had lost to the world number 72 in the last week’s tune-up event too.
The 23-year-old Nagal reeled off four straight games in the second set in his bid to stage a comeback but the initial dominance by Berankis largely dictated the outcome of the match.
While Nagal made an impression on his previous two Grand Slam appearances, the world number 144 could only play well in patches on Tuesday.
The precise and solid ground strokes of Berankis left Nagal playing defensively. He did fight hard and played better as the game progressed but Berankis did not falter on key points.
India’s singles challenge is over and now all eyes will be on doubles players — Rohan Bopanna, Divij Sharan and Ankita Raina. (PTI)
