Sumit Nagal was up against the formidable Karen Khachanov, the World no.18, in the first round of the 2024 French Open today
In a match that was frequently disrupted by rain, the Russian came out of the blocks strong in the first-set.
Thereafter, for much of the first set and through the second set, it was all one-way traffic with Khachanov powering through.
Nagal had no answers to the big hitting of the Russian.
In the 3rd set though, the Indian found some sort of rhythm. He was able to pull out winners from his treasured forehand and pushed Khachanov deep.
In the tie-break, Nagal did have his moments and was up a mini-break. But such was the power of the Russian that in the big moments, Khachanov pulled out winners from his hat at will.
Nagal will take heart from a spirited show in the final set and will now look ahead in to the grass-court season.
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