Australian Open: Sumit Nagal bows out; Bopanna-Ebden make second round in doubles

MELBOURNE — Sumit Nagal’s fairytale run at the Australian Open ended after losing to China’s Juncheng Shang in his men’s singles second-round match at Melbourne Park on Thursday.

World No. 137 Nagal, who stunned Kazakhstan’s world No. 27 Alexander Bublik in the opening round on Tuesday, took the first set against Shang, but went down by a 6-2, 3-6, 5-7, 4-6 in two hours and 50 minutes.

On Tuesday, Nagal roared in glory when the Indian tennis sensation won the first round of the Australian Open and became the first Indian male player since Ramesh Krishnan in 1989 to beat a seeded player at a Grand Slam.

Meanwhile, in the men’s doubles, Indian veteran Rohan Bopanna and his Australian partner Matthew Ebden successfully navigated a tough match against Australian wildcard entrants James Duckworth and Marc Polmans, securing their spot in the second round.

Bopanna and Ebden fell 0-5 behind in the first game but recovered to win their first-round match 7-6(7-5), 4-6, 7-6 (10-2) in the super tie-breaker.

The second seed Indo-Australian pair will next face ace another Australian wild card team of John Millman and Edward Winter.

Australian Open: Alcaraz stops Sonego; Zverev, Ruud, Norrie survive 5-set thrillers to reach Rd-3

MELBOURNE — World no 2 Carlos Alcaraz powered his way into the third round of Australian Open 2024 with a gruelling 6-4, 6-7(3-7), 6-3, 7-6(7-3) victory over Lorenzo Sonego on Thursday.

The Spaniard took three hours and 25 minutes to earn the win at Rod Laver Arena, avenging his straight-sets loss to Sonego in their only other career meeting at the 2021 Cincinnati Masters.

The 20-year-old Spaniard, who fired 43 winners, including 12 aces, will next face the winner of an ongoing battle between Indian qualifier Sumit Nagal and Chinese wildcard Juncheng Shang.

Earlier in the day, Alexander Zverev battled back in a five-set thriller against Slovakian qualifier Lukas Klein narrowly avoided consecutive second-round exits at the Australian Open on Thursday.

The German claimed a 7-5, 3-6, 4-6, 7-6(7-5), 7-6(10-7) victory after four and a half hours of play in John Cain Arena. The victory is Zverev’s 400th at tour-level.

He will next meet NextGen ATP American Alex Michelsen in the third round.

Minutes before Zverev wrapped up his victory, Casper Ruud also survived a five-setter against home favourite Max Purcell. The Norwegian registered a 6-3, 6-7(5-7), 6-3, 3-6, 7-6 (10-7) win in Margaret Court Arena.

Ruud will face Britain’s 19th seed Cameron Norrie in the third round.

Norrie set that matchup with a five-set win that concluded soon after the last ball in Ruud’s victory. The Briton stormed back from two sets down to earn a 3-6, 6-7(4), 6-2, 6-4, 6-4 victory against Italy’s Giulio Zeppieri.

Australian Open: Djokovic, Sabalenka continue winning form on Day 4 (Roundup)

MELBOURNE — World No. 1 Novak Djokovic overcame a ferocious challenge from Alexei Popyrin on Wednesday, while defending women’s champion Aryna Sabalenka eased through to the Australian Open’s third round.

Djokovic, the 10-time tournament champion, has not produced his vintage form at Melbourne Park and for the second straight match was pushed to four sets.

But he defied body aches and heckling in the crowd to defeat the gallant Australian 6-3, 4-6, 7-6 (4), 6-3 in three hours and 11 minutes.

The 43rd-ranked Popyrin rued being unable to convert four set points in the 10th game of the third set before Djokovic clinched the match and let out a triumphant roar.

“I don’t think I played at the highest level, but credit to him for coming up with the right strategy,” Djokovic said. “I haven’t been playing my best, still trying to find form.”

Fourth seed Jannik Sinner continued his bid for a first Grand Slam title with a second consecutive straight sets victory after downing Dutch qualifier Jesper de Jong 6-2, 6-2, 6-2 in one hour 43 minutes.

The 22-year-old Italian dominated in all facets and lost just 10 points on serve, while breaking six times.

“It doesn’t really matter who you play against. You fear nobody but have a lot of respect for everyone,” Sinner said. “This is what I try to show to everyone.”

Australia’s main hope Alex de Minaur continued to impress after beating Italian Matteo Arnaldi 6-3, 6-0, 6-3 in a one-sided romp.

The No. 10 de Minaur won 11 straight games during one dominant stretch to improve his record this season to 5-1, including a victory over Djokovic at the mixed teams United Cup.

No. 5 Andrey Rublev and No. 7 Stefanos Tsitsipas also made it through to the third round as they continued their quest for a maiden Grand Slam title.

In the women’s action, Sabalenka powered past 16-year-old qualifier Brenda Fruhvirtova 6-3, 6-2 in 67 minutes.

It was the Belarusian’s ninth straight victory at Melbourne Park as she bids to become the first woman to successfully defend her Australian Open title since Victoria Azarenka in 2013.

“I’m not thinking about confidence. I’m just trying to play my best,” said second seed Sabalenka. “I just try to focus on myself and fight for every point.”

Fourth seed Coco Gauff beat fellow American Caroline Dolehide 7-6 (6), 6-2 to underline her title credentials.

The U.S. Open champion was made to work in a tense first set and looked on the brink when Dolehide had the chance to serve it out at 6-5. But Gauff broke then raised her level in a gripping tiebreak to dent Dolehide’s resistance.

“It was really hard,” Gauff said. “If you give her something short, she’s going to punish you for it, so if I could go back and do something I’d change that.”

The 19-year-old Gauff will next play compatriot Alycia Parks, who upset 32nd-ranked Leylah Fernandez in straight sets.

But sixth seed Ons Jabeur crashed out after being thrashed 6-0, 6-2 by Russian 16-year-old Mirra Andreeva in just 54 minutes.

Jabeur, a three-time Grand Slam finalist, had no answer for a red-hot Andreeva, who continued an eye-catching debut at Melbourne Park with her first victory over a top-10 player.

Former tournament champion Caroline Wozniacki and 16th seed Caroline Garcia, who beat Naomi Osaka in the first round, were eliminated.

On Thursday, No. 1 Iga Swiatek and men’s second seed Carlos Alcaraz will be in second-round action, while China’s top-ranked player Zheng Qinwen faces Katie Boulter.

Also read: Australian Open: Tsitsipas Grand Slam hope alive after hard-fought victory over Thompson