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Indian tennis ace Sumit Nagal suffered a heartbreaking first-round defeat at the Gonet Geneva Open on May 19, Sunday. Nagal went down to Sebastian Baez with the scoreline of 7-6 (7), 6-3. Nagal put up a powerful performance against World No. 19 in the ATP 250 tournament. The Argentine has the highest number of clay-court wins (18) and two titles in 2024. Needless to say, the 23-year-old will wish to continue his quest for a third trophy as he meets Daniel Altmaier or Roberto Carballes Baena in the next round of the tournament.
The world ranked 80 began the game with a strong lead and went up 4-1 in the first set. The Indian continued to pressurise his opponent and held a set point; however, Sebastian made a remarkable effort and gave a tough fightback to force a tiebreaker. In the tiebreaker, Nagal went up 3-0 before and saved two points from 4-6 down. Nagal earned a set point at 7-6 but Baez ended up taking the tiebreaker 9-7.
The second set saw both players giving a tough fight to each other, and while Nagal gave a spirited fight, Baez secured a 6-3 win and closed the match. His effective use of drop shots played a crucial role in tackling the game. Nagal is set to participate in the French Open, and needless to say, the match served as proof of his strong resilience.
Notably, Baez is debuting at the ATP 250 in Geneva, where Novak Djokovic and Casper Ruud are the top two seeds. Before this, the 26-year-old Indian had a disappointing start in the BNP Paribas Primrose Bordeaux campaign in Bordeaux on May 14, Wednesday.
