Underdog Nagal looking forward to Thiem test at US Open

By anaafrica On Sep 3, 2020

NEW YORK- Sumit Nagal does not expect to dominate Austrian Dominic Thiem like his near namesake and idol Rafa Nadal when they meet in the U.S. Open second round on Thursday, but the 23- year-old Indian is relishing the challenge on the biggest stage. Nagal on Tuesday became the first Indian to win a singles match at the U.S. Open in seven years when he beat Bradley…

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Sumit Nagal does not expect to dominate Austrian Dominic Thiem like his near namesake and idol Rafa Nadal when they meet in the U.S. Open second round on Thursday, but the 23-year-old Indian is relishing the challenge on the biggest stage.

Nagal on Tuesday became the first Indian to win a singles match at the U.S. Open in seven years when he beat Bradley Klahn and immediately set his sights on Thiem who has reached two French Open finals, losing both to Nadal.

“I’ve got nothing to lose,” said Nagal, who took a set off Roger Federer in his first round defeat on his Grand Slam debut at Flushing Meadows last year.

“Last year I played Roger Federer and this year Thiem. It’s going to be a great match. For sure, I’m not the favourite.”

Second seed Thiem, who reached his third Grand Slam final at this year’s Australian Open, was far from convincing in his opener against Jaume Munar and went through when the Spaniard retired hurt after dropping the first two sets.

Andy Murray endured a more gruelling first outing and showed that he is physically capable of going the distance at a major after hip surgery by beating Yoshihito Nishioka in five sets.

The Briton could face a tricky test against 15th-seed Felix Auger-Aliassime in the second round.

Serena Williams will continue her bid for a record-equalling 24th major crown when she takes on Russia’s Margarita Gasparyan while Australian Open champion Sofia Kenin will meet Canada’s Leylah Fernandez.

American Sloane Stephens, the 2017 champion, will square off against Olga Govortsova of Belarus while Aryna Sabalenka plays Victoria Azarenka.

Russian third seed Daniil Medvedev, who lost to Nadal in last year’s final, faces Australian Christopher O’Connell as he chases his maiden Grand Slam title.

(Reporting by Shrivathsa Sridhar in Bengaluru; Editing by Christopher Cushing)

ANA NEWS WIRE Disclaimer:
The African News Agency (ANA) is a news wire service and therefore subscribes to the highest standards of journalism as it relates to accuracy, fairness and impartiality.
ANA strives to provide accurate, well sourced and reliable information across Text, Images and Video. Where errors do appear, ANA will seek to correct these timeously and transparently.
The ANA platform also contains news and information from third party sources. ANA has sought to procure reliable content from trusted news sources but cannot be held responsible for the accuracy and opinions provided by such sources on the ANA platform or linked sites.
The content provided for on the ANA News Wire platform, both through the ANA news operation and via its third party sources, are for the sole use of authorised subscribers and partners. Unauthorised access to and usage of ANA content will be subject to legal steps. ANA reserves its rights in this regard.
ANA makes every effort to ensure that the website is up and running smoothly at all times, however ANA does not take responsibility for, and will not be held liable for times when the website is temporarily unavailable due to technical issues that are beyond our control.