Sumit Nagal on Monday became the first Indian player to win a singles main draw match at the clay-court ATP Masters, shocking the world No. 38 in a grueling three-set match in Monte Carlo. Matteo Arnaldi. Nagal entered the ATP Masters 1000 event through the qualifying route and reversed his Italian opponent 5-7 6-2 6-4 in the first round, eliminating his first set deficit. Next he will face Denmark’s Holger Ruhn, ranked seventh in the world.

It was Nagar’s third win over a top-50 player and second this season. The 26-year-old kicked off the 2024 season with a straight-sets win over then-world No. 27 Alexander Bublik at the Australian Open in Melbourne.

He also defeated Chilean Cristian Garin, then ranked 22nd in the world, at the Argentina Open in March 2021.

Nagal qualified for the main draw by defeating higher-ranked players, securing his career-high ranking of 80 on a day when he reached a career-high ranking of 93.

Nagal also qualified for the Indian Wells Masters in March this year, but lost to the powerful Canadian Milos Raonic in the first round. He also participated in the qualifiers of the Miami Masters but failed to enter the main draw.

The first set was very even, with both sides breaking serve. Serving to win the set, Nagal lost his serve in the 12th game and Anaaldi attacked the Indian’s first serve.

However, Nagal remained calm and broke his opponent’s serve twice in the second set to easily lead 4-1. His serve came under pressure in the sixth game, but he held on and sealed the win.

After exchanging breaks with Analdi, Nagar broke his opponent’s serve for the second time in the seventh game of the third set to lead 4-3, which played a decisive role in the final outcome of the game. He pocketed the match in the eighth game to solidify his lead and served for the win in the tenth game.

When Anaaldi hit a forehand from the baseline on match point, Nagal let out a roar in celebration of victory.

Nagal defeated Italian player Flavio Coboli, ranked 63rd in the world, 6-2 6-3 in the first round of qualifying, and then defeated Facundo Coboli of Argentina, ranked 55th in the world. Diaz Acosta.