Sumit Nagal’s journey at the Auckland Open 2025 came to an early end as the Indian surrendered in front of 20-year-old Alex Michelsen in the first round match on Monday. Qualifying for the main draw after winning two matches in the qualifiers, Nagal took the lead before going down in the next two sets to eventually loose 7-6 (10-8), 4-6, 2-6.
Displaying resilience in the opening set, Nagal saved six set points before winning the first set. However, ranked 41 in the world, Michelsen staged an impressive comeback to level the match.
Nagal looked completely off-colour in the third set as the American unleased his dominance and played several well-placed shots to close out the game against 96th ranked Nagal.
Earlier, the Indian defeated Alexander Klintcharov and Adrian Mannarino in the qualifiers. Nagal beat Klintcharov 1-6, 6-3, 6-1 before winning against Mannarino in straight sets to secure a main draw spot.
With the Auckland Open done and dusted, Nagal will next be seen in the Australian Open 2025, which starts on January 12. The last time Nagal played Australia Open was in 2024.
Nagal’s record at Australian Open
He was initially denied an wildcard entry at the Australia Open 2024 by the AITA for not participating in the Davis Cup, but he made it to the main draw through qualifiers for his second appearance after three years.
At the AO 2024, Nagal upset Alexander Bublik in straight sets in the first round to become the first Indian to beat a seeded player in the singles of a main draw at a Grand Slam since Ramesh Krishnan in 1989 Australian Open. He lost to Chinese wildcard Juncheng Shang in the second round.
Meanwhile, Nagal has made the cut for the Australian Open 2025 main draw as per the list released by Tennis Australia. Nagal is currently ranked 98th in the world.
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