India’s Sumit Nagal will be opening his Australian Open 2025 campaign against world no.26 Tomas Machac from Czech Republic in men’s singles, the draws of which were announced on Thursday. Having entered the second round in the previous edition, Nagal will be aiming to go one step further when the Australian Open 2025 starts on January 12.
Currently ranked 96 in ATP rankings, the 27-year-old made it to the main draw by the virtue of being among the 104 highest-ranked players in the world. Nagal started his journey in 2025 with two wins in the Auckland Open qualifiers before succumbing in the first round.
The Indian defeated Alexander Klintcharov and Adrian Mannarino in the Auckland Open qualifiers. In the first round, Nagal lost to USA’s Alex Michelsen 7-6 (8), 4-6, 2-6 in a gruelling two-hour and 40-minute battle.
Notably, Auckland Open is a tune-up event for Australian Open. In the previous edition, Nagal, then ranked 137, has upset world no. 27 Kazakhstan’s Alexander Bublik in a thrilling clash. He eventually went down to China’s Juncheng Shang in the second round.
Nagal was in the news recently for once again refusing to play for the country in the Davis Cup. If everything goes well for Nagal, the Indian could face Rilley Opelka, who is ranked 171 in the ATP rankings.
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