Nagal hammered out of Olympics by world number two Medvedev
Sumit Nagal was blown away by world number two Daniil Medvedev's thunderous strokes and serves in the men's singles second round as India's tennis challenge all but ended at the Tokyo Games, on Monday. The Russian did not even need his A-game as he cruised to a 6-2, 6-1 win in 66 minutes against 160th ranked Nagal at the Ariake Tennis Centre.
Nagal clearly struggled against Medvedev
The gap between a world-class Medvedev and Nagal, who is still struggling to play the ATP Tour events regularly, was pretty clear. The Australian Open runner-up easily controlled the game even as Nagal tried hard. Nagal had earned his moment under the spotlight when he took a set off Swiss great Roger Federer at the 2019 US Open on his Grand Slam debut.
Medvedev's powerful strokes overwhelmed Nagal
Nagal began by dropping his serve in the very first game of the match when he netted a backhand and the match ended when his forehand sailed over the baseline on match point while serving to stay in the contest. Medvedev's powerful strokes from the baseline overwhelmed Nagal, whose game was not enough to trouble a much superior opponent.
Previously, Sania Mirza and Ankita Raina lost in first round
Nagal managed to hit a few winners. The match ended when he dropped the serve in the seventh by hitting a forehand long. Nagal had won his first-round against Uzbekistan Denis Istomin for India's first men's singles win at Olympics in 25 years. Meanwhile, Sania Mirza and Ankita Raina were knocked out of the women's doubles first round on Sunday.
India highly unlikely to play in the mixed event
It is highly unlikely that India will be able to field a team in the mixed event. The cut is likely to be around 50 and the combined ranking of the Indian players Nagal (144) and Mirza (9) is 153. India could not field a men's doubles team due to Rohan Bopanna and Divij Sharan's low combined rank of 113.
