Sumit Nagal’s US Open 2020 campaign ends in 2nd round after straight-set loss to Dominic Thiem

India’s top-ranked men’s singles player Sumit Nagal’s US Open 2020 campaign came to an end in the 2nd round on Thursday after he lost in straight sets to World No. 3 and 2nd seed Dominic Thiem. Nagal went down 3-6, 3-6, 2-6 to the birthday boy at the Arthur Ashe Stadium which was nearly empty.

Watched on by Rohan Bopanna and his support staff, Nagal, who took a set off Roger Federer at last year’s US Open, came up against one of the tournament favourites.

Nagal, who became the 1st Indian men’s singles player to win a Grand Slam main draw match in 7 years on Tuesday, put up a fighting effort against Thiem, showcasing glimpses of promise, especially when he hit some fine forehand winners. Nagal was able to break Thiem in the 1st and the 2nd set but wasn’t able to capitalise in service games that followed right after.

Thiem pointed out that the two men had some good forehand battles during the match that extended to 118 minutes.

“The conditions suit both our games, some long rallies. Some good forehand battle. It was an attractive match. Happy with myself,” Thiem said during his on-court interview after the win.

The birthday boy gets it done.

Dominic Thiem makes quick work of Nagal and is through to Round 3. pic.twitter.com/teTgzZhYyK

— US Open Tennis (@usopen) September 3, 2020

Even when it looked down and out, Nagal was able to find the composure to keep giving surprises and find winners but the gulf in class was evident with Thiem fending off the threats with relative ease. Nagal’s not-so-threatening first serves meant he was not able to trouble Thiem much and had to work that much harder to win points.

Being 0-3 down, Nagal fought back to make it 3-3 in the first set but gave it away as Thiem shook off any signs of rustiness after a shortened first-round match in which his opponent Jaume Munar retired in the 2nd set. The 23-year-old Indian was looking down and out at 2-5 but managed another break against Thiem only to get broken back at love.

Thiem looked far more comfortable for longer periods of time in the final set as he closed out the match in little less than 2 hours. The 2nd seed will take on Marin Cilic in the 3rd round.

Sumit Nagal was in good form as he headed into the US Open after reaching the quarter-finals at Prague Challenger. The top-ranked Indian men’s singles player took a set off Stanislas Wawrinka on the dirt before losing in 3 sets.

Nagal had resumed after the enforced break due to the Covid-19 pandemic by winning the PSD Bank Nord Open in Germany. The 23-year-old trains at the Nensel Tennis Academy and decided to stay back in Germany due to the pandemic and the subsequent lockdowns.