New boundaries: Nagal is the primary Indian to win a major draw match in Monte Carlo
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Sumit Nagal created historical past, turning into the primary Indian to file a main-draw win at Monte Carlo Masters, beating Italy’s Matteo Arnaldi within the first spherical on Monday. The unseeded 93rd-ranked Nagal, who is barely the third Indian to function in the primary attract Monte Carlo after Vijay Amritraj (1977) and Ramesh Krishnan (1982), got here from a set down to beat World No. 38 Arnaldi 5-7, 6-2, 6-4.
Nagal can be the primary Indian to win an ATP Masters 1000 match on clay for the reason that sequence started in 1990. The Indian will subsequent face seventh-seeded Dane and final 12 months’s runner-up Holger Rune.
Arnaldi broke Nagal to go 4-2 up within the opening set however the Indian broke again instantly. However, serving to keep within the set at 5-6, Nagal went down 15-40. He saved one break level the 23-year-old Italian transformed the second with a crosscourt winner to bag the primary set.
In the second essay, Nagal dominated Arnaldi and broke him twice to race to a 4-1 lead. While the Italian acquired one break of serve again, the Indian restored the benefit instantly earlier than serving out the set.
In the decider, Nagal broke Arnaldi within the third sport however the Italian restored parity at 3-3. Nagal broke him once more within the seventh sport and this time, managed to hold his lead intact to shut the set.
Nagal defeated Italy’s Flavio Cobolli (No. 63) 6-2, 6-3 and Argentina’s Facundo Diaz Acosta (World No. 55) 7-5, 2-6, 6-2 to qualify for the primary draw.
This is Nagal’s second look in an ATP Masters 1000 major draw this season.
