Tokyo, July 22: Indian tennis player Sumit Nagal will face Uzbekistan’s Denis Istomin in the opening round of the men’s singles event at the Tokyo Olympics, starting here on Friday.
Nagal, who qualified for the Games last week after large-scale withdrawals, was pitted against the lower-ranked Uzbek in the draw on Thursday. A first-round win for the 23-year-old Indian, ranked 160, could see him face second-seeded Russia’s Daniil Medvedev, who takes on Alexander Bublik in his opening round match.
In women’s doubles, six-time Grand Slam champion Sania Mirza and Ankita Raina will lock horns with the Kichenok twins – Nadiia and Lyudmyla – of Ukraine in the opening round.
Naomi Osaka’s first match in nearly two months will come against 52nd-ranked Zheng Saisai of China in the opening round of the Olympic tennis tournament.
The second-seeded Osaka, who represents host Japan and is one of the top names at the Games, is returning to competition after she withdrew from the French Open following the first round to take a mental health break. Osaka holds a 2-1 career edge over Zheng.
Iga Swiatek, the 2020 French Open champion, is a possible quarterfinal opponent for Osaka.
In the men’s draw, top-ranked Novak Djokovic will open against No. 139 Hugo Dellien of Bolivia. Djokovic is attempting to become the first man to complete a Golden Slam by winning all four major tennis tournaments and an Olympic singles gold medal in the same year.
Two-time defending Olympic champion Andy Murray received a tough opener against 15th-ranked Felix Auger Aliassime of Canada, who is seeded ninth.
Another intriguing first-round match features Kei Nishikori of Japan against fifth-seeded Andrey Rublev of ROC. Second-seeded Daniil Medvedev opens against Alexander Bublik of Kazakhstan and third-seeded Stefanos Tsitsipas meets Philipp Kohlschreiber of Germany.
Top-seeded Ash Barty will make her Olympic debut for Australia against Sara Sorribes Tormo of Spain. Barty is also playing doubles with Storm Sanders. Play begins on Saturday. (Agencies)
