04 September,2020 10:24 AM IST | New York | AFP
Sumit Nagal of India returns the ball during his Men's Singles second round match against Dominic Thiem of Austria on Day Four of the 2020 US Open at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Cente. Pic/ AFP
India's Sumit Nagal crashed out of the US Open after losing to Austria's Dominic Thiem in the second round match at Arthur Ashe Stadium on Friday. The world number three completed a comprehensive 6-3, 6-3, 6-2 win over Nagal in a two-hour-long game. Thiem started in confident fashion by taking a 3-0 lead, and while Nagal converted his fifth breakpoint at 1-3, the 23-year-old Indian's depth of shot was ultimately exposed. From 3-3 in the first set, Thiem won five straight games as Nagal, competing with a great deal of self-belief, was consistently slow to move into the court for the short ball.
Thiem said he was trying to play the fastest tennis in order to keep Nagal on his backhand as the youngster is "very dangerous" on his forehand. "I was playing well today. I had a good plan for the match. He's very dangerous when he can dictate with his forehand. I was exactly trying to avoid that. He also has very, very fast legs... I was trying to play my fastest tennis to keep him on the backhand, to not let him dictate with the forehand. I did that very well today," Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) quoted Thiem as saying after the match.
"I think the only bad game he played was at 4-3 to me, in the first set, where he kind of came back into the match after he broke me, then he did some unforced errors. Besides that, I think it was a good match on a quite good level. I'm happy to be through in straight sets," he added. Earlier, Nagal defeated Bradley Klahn of USA 6-1, 6-3, 3-6, 6-1 in the first round of the US Open to progress further into the tournament.
He became the first Indian to win a singles main draw match at a Grand Slam in the last seven years.
Thiem will now challenge the 2014 US Open champion Croatian Marin Cilic in the third round match on Saturday, September 5.
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