Nagal in US Open, to face Federer in Round 1

New York, August 24

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Earning a dream Grand Slam debut for himself, Sumit Nagal set up his US Open first round against Roger Federer. When Nagal stepped on the court to take on Brazil’s Joao Menezes in the final qualifying round, he would not have thought a win would pit him against a global superstar, who has 20 Grand Slam titles to his name. 

Nagal lost the first set but regrouped for a 5-7 6-4 6-3 win over the Brazilian in two hours and 27 minutes. The 22-year-old has become only the fifth Indian male player to feature in a Grand Slam singles main draw in this decade. Somdev Devvarman, Yuki Bhambri, Saketh Myneni and Prajnesh Gunneswaran are the only ones who played at singles Majors between 2010 and present. Nagal will take on the Swiss great on Monday at Artur Ashe Stadium. “It means a lot. Everyone dreams about this. I played well in qualifiers.  Every match meant something, I had some history with all of them. It was a roller-coaster. Of course, I am super happy. I don’t even know what to say,” Nagal said. India will have two players in a Grand Slam main draw for the first time since 1998 when Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupathi competed at the Wimbledon. Prajnesh is set to clash with world No. 5 Russian Daniil Medvedev. — PTI