 "Sumit Nagal made his maiden Wimbledon appearance this year. Image: Instagram")
Sumit Nagal feels he had the momentum in the third set of his Wimbledon first-round defeat against higher-ranked Miomir Kecmanovic but his relative inexperience on grass made the difference in the end.
The 26-year-old, who will now switch surfaces to his preferred clay for the Paris Olympics , lost the Wimbledon men’s singles opener to Kecmanovic in a marathon four-setter lasting nearly three-and-a-half hours.
Nagal lost 2-6, 6-3, 3-6, 4-6 to the Serb who is ranked 19 places higher than him.
The 71st-ranked from Jhajjar, made it to the Wimbledon main draw for the first time , won the second set to come on even terms but Kecmanovic won the next two to advance.
“This is my first main draw at Wimbledon, and playing on the grass surface is not easy; you need a bit of experience. But I think I did whatever I could, I fought hard. I felt like I could have served better, and there were a few things here and there in the match I could have done better,” Nagal told Star Sports.
“Later on in the third set, the momentum was kind of shifting towards me. I think, like I said, if I could have broken him at 5-3, him serving, I think the match could have changed in a funny way.” He said the SW19 experience was the one to cherish.
“It was a great experience. Obviously, when you play for three, three-and-a-half hours, you always feel like, ’this could have been done or that could have been done.’ But like I said, if I could have changed things in the third set, I would have really liked that (broken the opponent at 5-3).
Nagal said his aim is to keep climbing up the rankings and he is looking forward to a good show at the Paris Olympics .
“I keep on climbing the rankings. There are a few goals that I need to finish, and that will be one of them — to keep on climbing the rankings.
“Now, I’m going back on clay to get ready for Paris. I’m looking forward to it; it’s going to be my second Olympics, and I’m super, super excited for it.” Nagal, who was ranked 160th during the Tokyo Olympics, had lost in straight sets to Daniil Medvedev in the second round.
Tennis legend Mahesh Bhupathi also indicated that Nagal should have converted half chances.
“Everyone’s disappointed, but he’s had a breakthrough year, he’s played high-quality tennis. That guy’s a good player and he had his chances there in the third set and that’s the way it is. In events like this, you’ve got to take your chances, otherwise, you’re going to come out on the losing end.”
Former Davis Cupper Zeeshan Ali said Nagal should not get disappointed as he gave his opponent a tough time.
“I feel that Sumit should not be very disheartened by this loss because he played a very good match. He played an incredibly good second set and he had a lot of chances.
“Going forward, I think he definitely needs to prepare better to play in a tournament like Wimbledon, maybe get a couple of matches in before the main draw of Wimbledon starts, and that would definitely help him prepare better,” said Ali.