Sumit Nagal rues Wimbledon first-round loss, says he lost momentumSumit Nagal of India
plays a forehand return to Miomir Kecmanovic of Serbia during their first round match of
the Wimbledon tennis championships in London, Monday, July 1, 2024.
Indian tennis ace Sumit Nagal feels he had the momentum in the third set of the
Wimbledon first-round tie against higher-ranked Miomir Kecmanovic of Serbia but his
relative inexperience on grass cost him the match.
The 71st -ranked from Jhajjar, making it to the Wimbledon main draw for the first time, won
the second set to come on even terms but the Serbian, ranked 52nd, won the next two to
advance.
“This is my first main draw at Wimbledon, and playing on the grass surface is not easy; you
need a bit of experience. But I think I did whatever I could, I fought hard. I felt like I could
have served better, and there were a few things here and there in the match I could have
done better,” Nagal told Star Sports.
“Later on in the third set, the momentum was kind of shifting towards me. I think, like I said,
if I could have broken him at 5-3, him serving, I think the match could have changed in a
funny way.” He said the SW19 experience was the one to cherish.
Wimbledon 2024 starts with Carlos Alcaraz, Emma Raducanu and Coco Gauff on the
schedule; Sabalenka withdraws due to injury
“It was a great experience. Obviously, when you play for three, three-and-a-half hours, you
always feel like, ‘this could have been done or that could have been done.’ But like I said, if I
could have changed things in the third set, I would have really liked that (broken the
opponent at 5-3).
Nagal said his aim is to keep climbing up the rankings ladder and he is looking forward to a
good show at the Paris Olympics, where he will have to shift to clay courts.
“I keep on climbing the rankings. There are a few goals that I need to finish, and that will be
one of them — to keep on climbing the rankings.
New order: on Wimbledon’s new champions “Now, I’m going back on clay to get ready for Paris. I’m looking forward to it; it’s going to bemy second Olympics, and I’m super, super excited for it.” Nagal, who was ranked 160th during the Tokyo Olympics, had lost in straight sets to Daniil Medvedev in the second
round.
Tennis legend Mahesh Bhupathi also indicated that Nagal should have converted half
chances.
“Everyone’s disappointed, but he’s had a breakthrough year, he’s played high-quality
tennis. That guy’s a good player and he had his chances there in the third set and that’s the
way it is. In events like this, you’ve got to take your chances, otherwise, you’re going to
come out on the losing end.” Former Davis Cupper Zeeshan Ali said Nagal should not get
disappointed as he gave his opponent a tough time.
Paris Olympics organiser says focused on Games, not politics
“I feel that Sumit should not be very disheartened by this loss because he played a very
good match. He played an incredibly good second set and he had a lot of chances.
“Going forward, I think he definitely needs to prepare better to play in a tournament like
Wimbledon, maybe get a couple of matches In before the main draw of Wimbledon starts,
and that would definitely help him prepare .
