• Source:JND
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India's ace men's singles player Sumit Nagal registered a historic win in the first round clash of the Australian Open as he defeated 31st-seeded Alexander Bublik in straight sets on Tuesday.

Sumit outclassed Kazakhstan's Alexander Bublik 6-4, 6-2, 7(7)-6(5) to progress to the second round of the Grand Slam after being denied wild card entry. It was the first time that an Indian player defeated a seeded player in the Australian Open since 1989.

Previously, Ramesh Krishnan defeated the then world no. 1 and defending champion Mats Wilander in the Australian Open in 1989.

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Sumit became the first Indian men's singles player ever to reach the second round of the Australian Open. It was also his first victory against a top 50 player that will allow him to play the second-round clash of a Grand Slam for the second time.

The 26-year-old had the upper hand in since the start of the game and continued the momentum till clinching the last set on tie-breaker. However, Sumit had the chance to wrap the match much earlier as he failed to keep his lead.

Nagal was off to an impressive start as he broke Bublik in the first game of the match but he also failed to hold on to his own serve next as the scoreline read 1-1.

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The Indian then broke his opponent's serve twice later in the first set to take it 6-4 in 42 minutes.

Nagal played even better in the second set as he broke serve of his opponent twice while holding his own all through to win 6-2 in 43 minutes.
In the third set, both the players held their serve till the seventh game when Nagal broke his opponent to take a 4-3 lead. He then cruised ahead at 5-3.

The Indian then served for the match at 5-4 but failed to hold. The third set then went to the tie-breaker which Nagal eventually winning 7-5.

(With PTI inputs)