Bengaluru Open | Wasteful Nagal falls to Mayot; Dhamne downs Zhukayev

In a contest of missed opportunities, India No. 1 Sumit Nagal blew seven match-points to go down 6-7(2), 6-1, 6-7(11) to Frenchman Harold Mayot in the second round of the Dafa News Bengaluru Open ATP Challenger 125 at the S.M. Krishna Stadium here on Wednesday.

In the 3-hour, 9-minute slug-fest, Mayot, the tournament’s second seed, let go of four match-points of his own – two in the 12th game of the deciding set and two more in the tie-break. But the World No. 167 sealed it by firing an ace into the ad-court to thwart a much-anticipated all-Indian quarterfinal between Nagal and Dhakshineswar Suresh.

The defeat will rankle Nagal. He was 6-2 up in the final tie-break, and lost one of those four chances because of a misjudgement as he waited for the ball to sail long only for it to kiss the line and bounce away.

He often remonstrated with the chair umpire, especially in the second and third sets, and also seemed to be in an extended conflict with himself. It was not surprising that the moment the proceedings ended, the racquet bore the brunt and ended up in the adjacent court.

The 28-year-old World No. 275 did not play a bad match, but his overall play did not shine either.

Even though he erased the two match-points Mayot had at 5-6 in the third stanza with a fine overhead smash and a terrific inside-in winner, his serve failed him at crucial junctures and he was also clumsy at the net.

A steadier mind could have helped him make it a memorable day for India, for Dhakshineswar and Manas Dhamne had both gotten through tough three-setters.

While 18-year-old Dhamne overcame Kazakh Beibit Zhukayev 6-2, 3-6, 6-2 to set up a meeting with France’s Matteo Martineau, Dhakshineswar battled past Frenchman Felix Balshaw 6-3, 1-6, 7-6(4).

Other results (second round): Pedro Martinez (Esp) bt Michael Geerts (Bel) 7-6(3), 6-3; Cedrik-Marcel Stebe (Ger) bt Borno Gojo (Cro) 7-5, 7-6(9); Matteo Martineau (Fra) bt Eric Vanshelboim (Ukr) 6-2, 6-2; Jonas Forejtek (Cze) bt Dan Martin (Can) 6-7(5), 6-1, 6-4; Timofey Skatov (Kaz) bt Mitsuki Wei Kang Leong (Mas) 6-3, 7-5.