Pune: Indian star Sumit Nagal put up a strong fight against Serbian Vicktor Troicki before going down 2-6, 7-6 (7-4), 6-1 on the opening round of the third edition of Tata Open Maharashtra at Balewadi sports complex here on Monday.
India No. 2 Nagal, who took a set away against legendary Roger Federer during his debut Grand Slam match at 2019 US Open, showed immense resistance before going down in three sets against the former World No. 12.
The comeback man Germany's Cedrik-Marcel Stebe begun his campaign with an impressive 6-3, 6-4 knocking out the last year's finalist Ivo Karlovic, of South Asia's only Atp Tour tournament.
Fifth-seed Yuichi Sugita also made his way into the second round with a convincing 6-3, 6-0 win over Italian ace Thomas Fabbiano.
The 28-year-old Stebe, who has been plagued with numerous injuries that forced him to skip almost all the action between September 2013 and March 2016, dominated the former World No. 14 in the first set. Karlovic, however, tried to gain some momentum with two points before the German wrapped up the set as well as the match.
"My number one priority would be to stay healthy and keep myself away from any major injury. I started a bit slow. I knew I want to focus on my game. That kept me going," Stebe, who is making his debut.
Meanwhile, in the doubles opening round match, Italian pair of Paolo Lorenzi and Stefano Travaglia made winning start as they thrashed Lithuania's Ricardas Berankis and Russian Evgeny Donskoy 6-3, 6-4 in straight sets.
Results
Singles: Viktor Troicki bt Sumit Nagal 2-6, 7-6 (7-4), 6-1; Cedrik-Marcel Stebe bt Ivo Karlovic 6-3, 6-4; Yuichi Sugita bt Thomas Fabbiano 6-3, 6-0. Doubles: Paolo Lorenzi-Stefano Travaglia bt Ricardas Berankis-Evgeny Donskoy 6-3, 6-4.
