S Kannan in Paris
Sumit Nagal had practiced in earnest before his match against Frenchman Corentin Moutet, on the clay courts of Roland Garros. Two hours before schedule, Sumit warmed up well, served hard and went through the motions, as the sun kissed the clay courts.
Once into the main match in men’s singles at the Paris 2024 Olympics, Nagal had his chances before losing a three-setter on Sunday. It was a long contest, spread over almost two and a half hours, but Nagal was done in by errors and the inability to close it out.
After rain on Saturday prevented play, Sunday was bright and sunny. Nagal had played against Moutet before as well and knew he would come up with all kinds of tricks. It also included a few underarm serves, well within the rules of the game. But that, alone, was not the reason why Nagal lost.
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When an opponent tries to break rhythm with unconventional stuff, it irritates Nagal. “I knew he would come up with underarm serves, but it’s my fault I did not close out the match,” said Nagal. This admission of not doing well on the big stage was important. This year has been a good one for Nagal, he has made it to three Grand Slams and breached the triple-digit mark in rankings on the ATP computer. But the big deal was to play good tennis and win.
At the last Olympics in Tokyo, Nagal had got in as a replacement for injured Yuki Bhambri. This time, he had earned his spot in a tight draw. There was a lack of consistency from Nagal in the match, something he does not mind being criticised for. To say the final set was a thriller would be just spicing it up. Maybe, Nagal did not have the winners to close it out against the Frenchman.
Later, Nagal said he was not happy with losing matches like these. “I need to push harder in the ATP Tour as well, win at least three rounds,” he said. Earlier, Nagal was short of sponsors and funding, now he has enough. The extra zing in his game needs to be added. As former Davis Cup star and non-playing captain Jaidip Mukherjea said recently to RevSportz: “Nagal needs to add a weapon to his game.” Indeed, that strong shot was missing on Sunday.
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