Bengaluru Open: Sumit Nagal overcomes opening hurdle

BENGALURU: Sumit Nagal had found himself in the situation before. A set up and a break ahead in the second only for things to unravel. Such upheavals had dotted the poor season that the 21-year-old had to endure. Ups and downs, change in the team around him, injuries and losses from winning positions.
But on Monday, defending his Bengaluru Open Challenger crown against the losing finalist of last year Jay Clarke, the man who came in to the tournament with a wild card refused to lose.
"I've been a set up and a break up in the second set and somehow, I lose the second and then the third set. Today, at that stage, I told myself 'C'mon man this time you've got to do it,' Nagal said after his 6-4, 7-5 first round win over the seventh seed. "I'm happy and this has been the most important thing that I've been working on."
The match wasn't of the same intensity as the final last year as both struggled with the service. Nagal, though started off pretty shakily, grew in strength as the game wore on.
After the duo exchanged breaks in the first set, Nagal - who depends more on movement and rallies than service - broke again for 5-4 before sealing the set.
The second set saw Clarke save three break points in the first game. The Indian got his break in the third but was broken right back. If there were seeds of doubt in his mind at this point, the junior Wimbledon doubles champion didn't show it.
He had his nearly moments - Clarke saving two break points in the fifth - before he was truly tested. Serving at 4-5, Clarke had a set point in hand but Nagal held his nerves as the Brit, in his hurry to end the set, rushed his forehand onto the net to lose the advantage.
With the wind in his sails now, the world No. 309, who had a touch of fever, broke his opponent in the next game before finishing the match with a crushing forehand.
Mission accomplished, Nagal hoped it is the start of something new. "In February this year I started working with a new team. It didn't work too well. My whole summer went in sorting that out. Now I'm working with a fitness trainer - Milos Galecic - who was with Somdev (Devvarman). I'm enjoying my tennis more now. They are small, small things but they make a big difference," he revealed.
Meanwhile, Marco Trungelliti was the biggest casualty on the opening day as the second seed fell to Ilkel Cem of Turkey 6-2, 3-6, 7-6(3), the second of the seeds to bow out on the opening day.
Youssef Hossam, Sebastian Fanselow, Zsombor Piros and Sasikumar Mukund booked their spot in the main draw coming throught the qualifiers.
Results (Indians unless specified): Singles (Round 1): Sumit Nagal bt 7-Jay Clarke (GBR) 6-4, 7-5; Aleksandr Nedovyesov (Kaz) bt Scott Griekspoor (Ned) 6-3, 6-2; 5-Marc Polmans (Aus) bt Maverick Banes (Aus) 1-6, 6-4, 6-2; Ilkel Cem (Tur) bt 2-Marco Trungelliti (Arg) 6-2, 3-6, 7-6(3).