India’s Sumit Nagal loses to Chinese teenager in second round of Australian Open 2024

Indian tennis star Sumit Nagal lost his second-round Australian Open 2024 match against the 18-year-old Chinese player Juncheng Shang 6-2, 3-6, 5-7, 4-6 on Thursday.

After advancing to the main draw of the Australian Open by winning three qualifying matches without dropping a set, Nagal defeated seeded 27th player Alexander Bublik in the first round, becoming the first Indian player in over a decade to advance to the second round at AO.

The upbeat India star looked determined to further create history by cruising into the third round but had a stern challenge from the Chinese teenager during the second round. After breaking Shang’s serve in the first game of the first set, Nagal never allowed him to take control of the proceedings, winning the first set easily 6-2 and taking an early lead.

Just when he appeared to dominate the second set, as he did during his first-round clash against Bublik, Shang upped his game by minimising his errors and starting to find the court’s corners more often. It pressurised Nagal, who lagged with his wait-and-watch game plan.

The Chinese star emerged victorious in the second set, winning 6-3. Shang continued to dominate with his strong serve, not allowing the unseeded India star to settle. As both held their ground, winning their games, respectively, the game-changing moment came during the penultimate game, when Shang broke Nagal’s serve, taking an important lead in the game, winning it 7-5.

The final set reflected Shang’s power, as Nagal looked tired in his approach, with his unforced errors increasing.

Shang’s strong serve was good for Nagal, who lost the final set 4-6, thus going down in a four-set tie.

Shang will next face Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz at the Rod Laver Arena in the third-round match.