Sumit Nagal
Credit: PTI Photo
New Delhi: Indian tennis player Sumit Nagal showed great composure on way to a straight-set win over Canada's Gabriel Diallo to make a bright start on his debut at the Miami Open here.
The 26-year-old, playing the first-round qualifier match, kept his nerves in the crucial stages to outwit the 6 feet 8 inches tall Canadian Diallo 7-6(3) 6-2 on Monday.
Nagal, who had broken into the world's top-100 last month after winning the Chennai Open, will face Coleman Wong next.
Nagal won the tie-breaker in the first set after saving a break point in the seventh game, while he dominated the second set, breaking Diallo in the first and seventh game.
He is likely to reach a new career-high ranking of world No. 92 after this win.
In his last tournament, Nagal had lost to Milos Raonic at the Indian Wells after qualifying for the main draw following the last-minute withdrawal of Rafael Nadal.
Nagal had created quite a flutter in January when he advanced to the second round of the Australian Open. That effort had played a big part in launching him into the top-100 of the ATP rankings.