Melbourne [Australia], January 12 : India's Sumit Nagal lost to Czechia's Tomas Machac in the first round of the men's singles event of the ongoing 2025 edition of the Australian Open at Melbourne Park on Sunday.
The 27-year-old Nagal, 91st in the ATP Rankings for singles, lost to his world No. 25 opponent 6-3, 6-1, 7-5 in two hours and five minutes.
The only Indian tennis player competing in singles at the Australian Open, Nagal started the match strongly and lost just two points from his first three service games.
However, Machac, who reached the fourth round at the US Open last year, broke Nagal's serve in the seventh game to lead 4-3 before clinching the set by dominating the subsequent games.
Nagal's opportunity to break came early in the second set, but Machac fended off the breakpoint in the opening game.
The Indian tennis player lost steam as the set progressed, going down in his next two service games with scorelines of 40-0 and 40-15. Though Nagal tested Machac's serves in the fifth and the seventh game, he eventually fell short.
Nagal finally got the crucial break in the second game of the third set. He extended his lead to 3-0 in the set but Machac stepped up to break Nagal in the seventh and the ninth games to seal the match in straight sets.
Last year, Sumit Nagal made the main draw via the qualifying rounds and stunned Kazakhstan's world No. 27 Alexander Bublik in the opening round. He became the first Indian men's tennis player to defeat a seeded player in a Grand Slam since Ramesh Krishnan in 1989.
Nagal bowed out in the next round after losing to People's Republic of China's Juncheng Shang.
Meanwhile, Indian interest continues in the doubles event starting Tuesday.
Rohan Bopanna, who won the Grand Slam with Australia's Matthew Ebden in 2024, will team up with Colombia's Nicolas Barrientos this year.
Other Indian players in action include Yuki Bhambri with France's Albano Olivetti, N Sriram Balaji alongside Mexico's Miguel Angel Reyes-Varela, and Rithvik Bollipalli partnering the USA's Ryan Seggerman.
No Indian woman made the cut for the Australian Open this year.
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