NEW DELHI: Sumit Nagal, ranked 93rd in the world, fell short against world number 7 Holger Rune, exiting the Monte Carlo Masters 2024 in the round of 32 on Thursday. The match, which sprawled across two days due to rain interrupting play, saw Rune dominate from the very start as he won the opening set 6-3.

After falling behind by two points in the second set, Nagal kept pushing and dug deep to overturn the deficit and level the score at one set apiece. With the sets tied, the third proved to be the decider.

Rune started strong again, and although Nagal tried his best to come back, he fell short as Rune secured the third set and won the match with a scoreline of 6-3, 3-6, 6-2.

Despite the loss, Sumit Nagal’s year has been positive so far.

The Indian player also secured a spot in the men’s singles main draw of Roland Garros, becoming the first Indian male player since Prajnesh Gunneswaran in 2019 to qualify for the French Open main draw.