Sumit Nagal, the indefatigable Indian, on Monday created yet another piece of tennis history by entering the second round of the Monte Carlo Masters.
The 26-year-old from Delhi fought back to upset world number 38 Matteo Arlandi of Italy in a gruelling three-setter (5-7, 6-2, 6-4) that lasted two hours and 38 minutes.
Nagal qualified for the main draw of the prestigious ATP Masters 1000 clay court event via qualifiers wherein he defeated higher-ranked players, eighth seed Flavio Cobolli of Italy (6-2, 6-3) and third seed Facundo Díaz Acosta of Argentina (7-5, 2-6, 6-2).
The obvious underdog against the 28-year-old Arnaldi who reached the fourth round of the US Grand Slam last year, Nagal started sprightly but lost the first set 7-5 following a second break of service in 54 minutes. But Naagal regrouped brilliantly to claim the next two sets to continue his sensational run in Monte Carlo and claimed a historic first Masters 1000 main draw win.
Despite his apparent lack of power game and finesse, a reading reaffirmed by the bare facts -- 17 winners as against Arnaldi's 40 -- Nagal dug deep to seal an improbable win. India's top-ranked player, however, got assistance from the Italian's 27 unforced errors including three double faults in the deciding set.
Sumit Nagal's Next Clash
In the round of 32, he will face two-time French Open quarter-finalist Holger Rune of Denmark. The 20-year-old, who resides in the Principality of Monaco, got a bye in the first round. In the live ATP rankings, Rune is 11th in the world, while Nagal just touched 80th.
Earlier this year, Nagal made his Masters debut at the Paribas Open as a lucky loser, as Rafael Nadal's replacement. He thus became the first Indian to compete at a Masters 1000 event since Prajnesh Gunneswaran in Miami in 2019.
And here, in Monaco, he became the first Indian singles player in 42 years to make the main draw.
