India's Sumit Nagal pulled off a stunning victory against Denis Istomin in his 1st round match 6-4, 6-7, 6-4.
Nagal's win makes him the first Indian since Leander Paes in 1996 in Atlanta to win at an Olympics Tennis Singles event. He was handed a berth in the men's singles draw at the eleventh hour on 16 July after large scale withdrawals.
The first set was a see-saw battle but in the end, Nagal held his nerve and clinched it by a score line of 6-4. Nagal saved two breakpoints in the 2nd game of the match and after that both players held serve till it was 4-4. Nagal broke Istomin's serve in the 9th game and wrapped the set in the following game.
The 2nd set was a one-sided affair for the first 7 games as the Indian carried off from where he left in the opening set.
Nagal broke the Uzbek's serve twice in the first 4 games and was leading 3-1. Istomin however fought back with a break.
Nagal raced off to a 5-2 lead but the 34-year-old made a comeback. The set, which was a 71-minute affair, went into a tie-break and the Uzbek levelled the match.
The final set saw both the players holding their serves for the first eight games. Sumit Nagal pulled off a stunning win in the 9th game to break Istomin for the first time in the 3rd set and take a 5-4 lead.
He successfully served for the match to set up a 2nd round clash with second seed Daniil Medvedev.
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