Indian qualifier Sumit Nagal took a set off the great Roger Federer before losing his first ever Grand Slam match at the US Open here on Monday night. Playing at the Arthur Ashe Stadium, World No. 190 Nagal did not let the occasion get the better of him and played some fine tennis to win the first set before going down fighting to the holder of a record 20 Grand Slam titles 6-4, 1-6, 2-6, 4-6. The 23-year-old Jhajjar-born player had won three tough qualifying rounds to enter the main draw.
Meanwhile another Indian Prajnesh Gunneswaran got a taste of high level tennis in his first-round exit from the US Open, losing to world number five Daniil Medvedev in straight sets, here on Monday. The gulf between Prajnesh and top-10 players were wide and apparent as he lost 4-6 1-6 2-6 to the Russian, who recently vanquished multiple Grand Slam winner Novak Djokovic.
