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Indian tennis star Sumit Nagal had a disappointing end to his campaign in the 2025 Auckland Open after he lost against America’s Alex Michelsen by 6-7 (8-10), 6-4, 6-2 in the first round on Monday, January 6. Despite taking a lead in the first set, the 27-year-old fell short against the young American player and lost two back-to-back sets after that. He will now be seen competing in the upcoming 2025 Australian Open.
Sumit Nagal made it into the main draw of the ASB Classic in Auckland after defeating France’s Adrian Mannarino 7-6 (7-5), 6-3 in the second round of the qualifiers. After that, Nagal also had a good start against Alex Michelsen but eventually ended up losing the game and getting knocked out of the competition. With this win, the 20-year-old also qualified for the round of 16 and will be seen in action again on January 8 with his opponent yet to be decided.
Sumit Nagal loses back-to-back sets after early lead
Talking about the match against Alex Michelsen, Sumit Nagal had a good start after he ended up winning the first set where he successfully saved six points and won the set by 7-6(10-8). After that, Michelsen made a great comeback in the second set and leveled the game. The American won the set by 6-4 and showed great resilience. After that, the third set was completely made one sided by Michelsen and defeated India’s Sumit Nagal to qualify for the next round of the 2025 Auckland Open.
Now, Sumit Nagal will be looking to move on from this loss and completely shift his focus towards the upcoming Australian Open in 2025. The tournament will kickstart on January 12. Nagal’s best performance in the Australian remains finishing in the second round in the previous edition in 2024. Now, India’s top ranked player will be looking to surpass this record in the upcoming season and end up winning the title.
