New York: Sumit Nagal got a taste of top-level tennis during a 3-6 3-6 2-6 defeat at the hands of world number three Dominic Thiem as the young Indian exited the US Open here on Thursday.
Playing against the second seeded Austrian, the Indian lost in straight sets to Thiem, who celebrated his 27th birthday with a commanding performance in the second round at the Athur Ashe stadium.
Thiem, this year’s Australian Open finalist, had said that he has seen videos of Nagal’s game and knew that he has a ripping forehand. Well prepared, he came out with a clear strategy of not giving many balls on the forehand side of the Indian.
Nagal came into the contest after giving India a rare singles main draw match win at a Grand Slam but it was always going to be a daunting task for him to challenge someone who has made two French Open finals.
Slow off the blocks, Nagal was broken early but the slogger that he is, he kept Thiem under pressure, creating as many as five chances to break back in the fifth game that lasted 10 minutes. He converted the fifth breakpoint when Thiem made an unforced error and made it 3-3 with an easy hold, riding momentum.
Playing with a lot of energy and stinging strokes, those were the best two games that Nagal played as the gap between him and the top players was on display after that. Thiem, using his superior game shifted gears with remarkable ease, turning the tide with an immediate break and served out the set.
Nagal lost his serve early again with Thiem getting a grip of his returns. The Austrian started to serve better and also unleashed his big-hitting game, keeping the match in a tight grip. Thiem broke the 23-year-old Nagal one more time in the seventh with a cross court winner to serve at 5-2.
Serena Williams battled her way through to a 6-2 6-4 victory over Russia’s Margarita Gasparyan in the second round of the US Open.
Murray has three Grand Slam titles. Felix Auger-Aliassime had three Grand Slam match wins when he stepped on court for their second-round clash on Thursday at the US Open. But as the match unfolded, it became clear that past history had little bearing on the present.
The No.15 seed produced one of his finest performances to defeat Murray 6-2, 6-3, 6-4. Auger-Aliassime cracked 24 aces and didn’t face a break point, giving the 2012 champion little opportunity to get involved throughout their match in Arthur Ashe Stadium.