Sumit Nagal Apologizes After Dramatic Win at Maia Open
Nagal's Remarkable Comeback
File image of Indian athlete Sumit Nagal (Photo: @ATPChallenger/X)
New Delhi, Oct 13: Sumit Nagal expressed his regrets to the Portuguese audience for a gesture he made following his impressive comeback victory against local favorite Henrique Rocha at the Maia Open ATP 100.
Nagal achieved a thrilling 3-6, 7-5, 7-6 (5) victory over Rocha, the second seed, in a match that lasted one hour and 21 minutes, marking Nagal's debut on indoor clay courts.
After the match, he took to Instagram to apologize for his actions, stating, "To the crowd in Maia, I want to apologize for the talking gesture I made after the match. It was a heat-of-the-moment reaction, and it wasn’t the right way to respond."
He continued, "I respect everyone who came out to watch, and I appreciate you being there. I’ve also spoken to Henrique and apologized to him personally."
Throughout the match, Nagal faced several critical moments where he nearly lost. Rocha, who had recently won a title in Porto, was serving for the match twice in the final set, first at 5-4 and then at 6-5. The score was tied at 4-4 when Nagal was serving.
Rocha managed to break Nagal's serve to lead 5-4 and was poised to win, but Nagal broke back to equalize at 5-5. After losing his serve again, Rocha had another chance to serve for the match at 6-5, but Nagal broke him once more, forcing a tie-break.
In the tie-break, Nagal initially led 2-0 and then 4-2, but Rocha rallied to take a 5-4 lead. Nevertheless, Nagal regained his composure, winning the next three points to secure the match.
Next, Nagal will compete against either Tiago Pereira from Portugal or Luka Mikrut in the pre-quarters.
Nagal entered this tournament following a quarterfinal finish at the Asian Games, where he was eliminated by China's Yibing Wu with scores of 4-6, 4-6.