Tennis
Sumit Nagal reaches the semifinal of Heilbronn Challenger
Sumit breezed past Ivan with superior serves, winning the first set 6-1, overcame a strong comeback to win the second set 7-6.
Sumit breezed past Ivan in the first set, thanks to superior serves, claiming the set 6-1. Ivan came back strongly in the second set, but Nagal ultimately prevailed, winning the tiebreaker and securing the set, and the match, 7-6. The stats reveal that Nagal outperformed Ivan in every aspect of the game, including serve percentage, win percentage on both first and second serves, and making fewer errors on serves.
The Indian is having a dream run at the Heilbronner Neckarcup, where he achieved a stunning victory over former World Number 16 Nikoloz Basilashvili from Georgia in the round of 32, followed by a straight-sets win over Spaniard Barranco Cosano in the round of 16.
Nagal, who started this year with a bang by upsetting World No. 27 Alexander Bublik of Kazakhstan at the Australian Open, has caught the tennis world's attention, particularly among Indian tennis fans. Since then, the Indian has won his fifth ATP Challenger title at the Chennai Open.
However, he has faced setbacks in subsequent events, with early exits at the Pune Challenger, Dubai Tennis Championships, Indian Wells Masters, Miami Open, Hassan Grand Prix, Monte Carlo Masters, Bordeaux Challenger, Geneva Open, and the French Open.
