melbourne
India’s top singles tennis player Sumit Nagal will face Czech Republic’s Thomas Machak in the first round of the Australian Open starting on Sunday. 27-year-old Nagal is currently ranked 96th in the ATP rankings. Being among the top 104 players, he has made it to the main draw of the first Grand Slam of the season.
The Haryana player had defeated 27th-ranked Alexander Bublik of Kazakhstan in the first round of the Australian Open last year but lost to Juncheng Shang of China in the next round. He had lost in the first round to America’s Alex Michelsen in the Auckland ASB Classic, considered important for preparation for the Australian Open. Nagal was in the news recently for his refusal to play Davis Cup.