DELHI OPEN
NEW DELHI, Feb 17: India’s top-ranked singles tennis player Sumit Nagal opened his campaign with a straight game win over Spain’s David Jorda Sanchis at the Delhi Open here on Tuesday.
However, the day also produced a major upset as top seed Dane Sweeny of Australia was knocked out in the opening round by Kazakhstan’s Beibit Zhukayev.
Nagal, ranked No. 297 in the world, defeated Sanchis 6-3, 7-5 in one hour and 27 minutes to move to the second round.
Nagal broke the Spainiard in the opening game of the first set and maintained his advantage to take it to 6-3.
The second set proved more competitive, with both players holding serve until the Indian secured the decisive break in the 11th game and served out the match.
Nagal’s win was the lone positive result in singles for the Indian contingent, with 18-year-old Manas Dhamne, qualifier Manish Sureshkumar and wildcard entrant Digvijay Singh all bowing out in their openers.
Kazakhstan’s Zhukayev, ranked No. 292 in the world, produced the biggest upset of the tournament, as the 25-year-old came from a set down to beat top seed and World No. 134 Sweeny 6-7 (6), 6-2, 6-2.
The Australian had entered the tournament after a strong start to the 2026 season, having reached the second round of the Australian Open, and winning an ATP Challenger 75 title in Brisbane.Second seed Rei Sakamoto progressed to the round of 16 after defeating Chennai Open champion Frederico Ferreira Silva 6-2, 6-2 in the first round.
Great Britain’s Jay Clarke, the third seed, also advanced with a hard-fought 7-6, 6-4 win over Polish qualifier Maks Kasnikowski. (PTI)
